Wherever You Are
by GA101
Summary: Sequel to Ever Ever After. Derek gets some unsettling news that affects his life and everyone's around him. Set four years after Ever Ever After and contains many flashbacks on the four years in between. *Should read Ever Ever After before reading this one. Many elements probably won't make sense otherwise.*
1. Prologue

**Yes, ladies and gentlemen! This is in fact the sequel to _Ever Ever After._ I can't believe it either! Hahaa (: I'm really excited about this and hope you guys are too ! Enjoy !**

Nerves were clear in Derek Shepherd's expression as he made his way silently down to Dr Wellington's office. Being the chief had earned him a few of these meetings but never had he been as unprepared as in that moment. He had no idea why the head of the board of Seattle Grace/Mercy West hospital wanted him, and even less why the meeting had to be in his office rather than in Derek's where they usually held meetings like this. It scared him and Derek Shepherd was not easily scared.

The hallway was long and narrow, and very poorly lit. Talk about uncomfortable. As he made his way towards Dr Wellington's office, he thought of happy thoughts. He thought of all of the joy the part few years had brought him. Mostly of Kelsey and Keegan. And of Meredith of course. His family, the loves of his life. The people who could make him smile even after a long day or a tough surgery. They never failed to lighten his mood.

"Thank you for coming Dr Shepherd," Dr Wellington greeted him as they each took a seat.

"Anything for you sir," Derek replied with a smile.

Dr Wellington returned the smile. "You're probably wondering why I summoned you here."

Derek shrugged. "I'm slightly curious." He finished with a smirk.

Wellington gave him a sad smile. "We need you Derek Shepherd for something that is out of your control."

Derek gave him a confused look. "I'm not following."

Wellington pulled out a folder and Derek was able to get a quick glance at his name on the top of it.

"It says in your folder that when you pleaded for a transfer to Seattle Grace you also signed off on our extra policy. Do you remember?"

Derek had to think hard. It had after all been several years.

"I remember coming to Richard looking for a job at Seattle Grace because I needed out of New York. He told me the transfer could take several weeks but I needed out at that very moment." He paused. "That's when he told me about the extra policy. Said it would speed up the process and that the only thing I needed to give in return were my services wherever they were necessary. It never did happen."

Dr Wellington cleared his throat. "Well then today is your lucky day," he said without much enthusiasm.

Derek didn't understand. "What do you mean?"

"Your services are needed."

Derek nodded. "Okay..." His nerves from earlier had returned.

Dr Wellington pulled out another folder and slid it across the table. Derek picked it up.

His heart skip a beat when he recognized the logo on the top.

DWB.

Doctors Without Borders.

His heart sank low before even continuing. He knew what this meant. And Wellington had said he had no say.

"Our latest doctor to be sent out was pulled out of his mission when his wife and son died in a car accident. We need to fill the spot and time is running out. Derek, you're the one they've picked."

Derek couldn't believe what was happening. "Sir, when I signed those forms I had no ties and nothing keeping me back. I have a family now! I can't leave my wife and kids to go to..." he looked into the folder and went pale at the sight of the name of the location.

"I'm truly sorry Derek," Wellington replies. "I know how important your family is to you and I'm sorry I was the one who had to deliver this news."

Derek shook his head. "There's gotta be something you can do..."

Wellington sighed. "I wish there was but this decision was made over my head." He paused and sighed. "Derek, you're a good man and I know this is tough on you..."

Derek shook his head. "No, you don't. My wife suffered through a childhood where her mother always picked work over her family. I promised her, my kids and myself that I would never turn into that person. And now, what? I do this or I lose my job?"

Wellington nodded sadly.

Derek rose from his seat. He paced for a few moments, trying to make sense of it all in his head. This had to be a bad dream, right?

He took a deep breath before asking the big question.

"How long?"

**I know, very short, but this is simply the prologue. It may seem far fetched, but the idea came to me and I couldn't shake it. I hope you guys enjoy this anyway! I want to hear your thoughts before continuing. It might be a while before there's an update, but I hope you guys keep coming back. **

** .Enjoy!**


	2. An ocean apart

**Okay, so this is where it starts! I apologize for the long wait and I'm going to try my very hardest to stay on top of this story, but I'll need feedback! I want to know which characters you most want to see and what you want to know about them. As you'll soon realize, this story will be a bit particular and may sometimes be hard to follow. It's also very difficult for me to write and keep track of so be patient with me. All input would be great! **

**So, I want to explain a little bit how this is going to go. It won't follow the same linear form that Ever Ever After had. I want to mix things up and make this interesting. So, a lot of the story is going to be flashbacks. Whenever the story writing is in classic format, it's the present time (April 2015, for this story's purpose). Whenever there is a flashback, it will be indicated in italics. The flashbacks will also begin with a date (day, month and year for the most part). The flashbacks won't be linear either, that is why I have decided to incorporate dates, as to make it easier to understand. I hope you all enjoy (and don't get to lost!). **

Meredith felt a fluttering in her stomach that put a smile on her face. She had been looking forward to this week the moment she knew it was coming. The week was going to be a long one. Because hopefully before the end of the week, she would be at the airport, greeting the person who she didn't think she'd survive without.

Derek was coming home.

As she made her way to the daycare, Kelsey at the end of one hand, Keegan on the other, she thought of the day that all of this began.

_*December 12__th__ 2014* _

_The familiar sound of wheels rolling down the gravel path made her smile. Even after all this time, Meredith and Derek were still that couple who were madly __in__ love, like two emotional and hormonal teenagers. The thought made her laugh. She watched as the car came to a stop, set down the book that she had been reading and got up to greet him. _

_However, she wasn't the only one to notice hi__s__ arrival. _

_"Daddy! Daddy! Daddy's home!" _

_She was quickly pushed aside by Kelsey and Keegan and she laughed at their enthusiasm. She figured she might as well let them do the greeting. _

_She laughed as she watched Derek pick each of their children up individually, flying them around the foyer and listened as they hollered and laughed in pleasure. It was just one of those things they did, a little welcome home tradition that had started as soon as the twins could walk. Derek set Kelsey down, slipped off his shoes and watched as the kids ran back towards the family room. _

_He then headed straight for his wife._

_After giving her a kiss and a smile, he laughed. "It won't be long before I won't be able to the flying rocket ship with the kids anymore." He said this, all while stretching his back. _

"_Getting old Dr. Shepherd?" Meredith asked with a laugh._

_He shook his head. "Nah, but they are. And they're getting big."_

_Meredith nodded. "It's crazy how fast they grow up."_

_Derek nodded, and it was then that Meredith noticed the sad look in his eyes. _

"_What's wrong Der? Long day at work?" She headed over to the stove and slipped on her oven mits. _

_He shrugged. "Kind of. Not really. It's…" he trailed off, not knowing how to bring up the topic._

"_Does it have to do with your secret meeting with Wellington?"_

_Derek nodded, but didn't say a word. He grabbed himself a water bottle from the fridge. _

_Meredith pulled a lasagna from the oven. "Do you want to talk about it?"_

_Derek took a seat at the island and cracked open the cover on his beverage. "After supper?"_

_Meredith smiled sadly, knowing already it wasn't going to be good. "Okay."_

_It was during dinners like these that Meredith was glad they had kids. Dinners like these would have been otherwise very, very quiet. _

"_Today at day care, Kelsey hit someone!" Keegan exclaimed. _

"_Nuh uh," she replied._

"_Yes you did! When she took your doll!"_

_Kelsey's eyes started to well with tears. "I didn't mean to…" she said, turning towards her mother. "I just wanted my doll back. And I didn't hit her, it was an accident."_

_Meredith gave her a sympathetic look. "I'm sure that if there was a problem, Lisa would have told me," she said, referring to the young woman who was working at the daycare that day. "Just be gentle, okay?"_

_Kelsey nodded. "Okay mommy." _

_Meredith smiled as she watched the kids chat about other things that happened that day. She chanced a glance towards her husband who hadn't said a thing the entire supper hour. _I wonder what's going on, _she thought to herself._

"_Hey kids, since it's Friday night, what do you say we put on a Christmas movie?"_

_The kids bounced from their seats, all while exclaiming excitedly. Before long, they were fighting over which movie to watch._

"_I'll get them all set up, and then we can go talk in the living room," Meredith said as she picked up the supper dishes. "How does that sound?"_

_Derek nodded. "Okay. Let me take care of the dishes."_

_She left him to it, and headed towards the family room where the kids were already sitting on the couch. _

"_So what's it going to be tonight?"_

_Keegan passed her _Frosty_ and Meredith laughed. "Why am I not surprised?"_

_Soon enough, the kids were settled and content, and Meredith returned to the kitchen to find it empty. She peered around the corner and found Derek already sitting on the couch in the living room._

"_Hey love," she said as she settled in beside him. "What's going on?"_

_He sighed. "I don't know where to start."_

_Meredith brought her hands up to his head and ran her fingers through his hair. "Why not the beginning?"_

_He nodded. "Okay." He took a deep breath. "When I first came out to Seattle, all those years ago, and asked Richard if I could transfer, get a job at Seattle Grace, he explained to me that a transfer could take at least two weeks to process. I couldn't wait two weeks. I needed to be in the OR, feel the rush of surgery in order to get through the Mark and Addie ordeal."_

_Meredith hadn't realized how far back the beginning of this really went. She didn't know how it was relevant yet, but she continued to listen._

"_So I signed a special contract that would allow me to start immediately. The catch was that the hospital pretty much owned me for the next ten years. I couldn't refuse anything the board would ask me, or else I would lose my job. I couldn't even transfer. At the time, I didn't think anything of it. I had no ties, no one stopping me from doing anything. I could do whatever. I never thought about the consequences, never thought I'd settle down again anyway." He sighed. "I had completely forgotten about it until today."_

_Meredith had an idea where this was going, but wasn't expecting what Derek would say next. _

_He took a deep breath. "Doctors Without Borders. That's what this contract has gotten me into. The guy they have there right now, his wife and son just passed away tragically and he's being brought back due to extreme circumstances. All of their doctors are currently on missions, so they've come to me. Since they pretty much own me, I either accept or lose my job. And quitting is one thing, but being fired is a completely different story. Even with my credentials, I could have a hard time finding something else."_

_Meredith nodded, taking it all in. "So…"_

_Derek took her hands in his. "I'm willing to leave it all behind for you. I'll become a stay at home dad. I mean, for the time being or whatever. I can find something else down the road, or whatever, but we have enough money to support ourselves for a long time, and you make enough to keep up the lifestyle we're living. I'd quit, for you."_

_Meredith couldn't believe it. "Derek, I-"_

_He cut her off. "Meredith, I know how much it affected you, having your mother always pick her career over her family. I'm not going to do that. I have you, and Kelsey and Keegan, and whatever future babies you will most definitely give me." This made both of them smile. "If giving up being a surgeon means I get to keep all that and make you all happy, then it's what makes me happy too."_

_Meredith shook her head. "No."_

_Derek was confused. "What do you mean, no?"_

_Meredith brought her hand up to his face. "Derek, you are a surgeon. You can't give that up. Going away for this isn't giving up on your family. Not going away is giving up on your career. I can't let you do that." She looked him in the eye. "I'm strong and you cannot compare this to my mother picking her career over me. This is in no way the same. We'll be fine."_

_Derek wanted to argue. "Meredith…"_

_She shook her head. "I don't want to hear it." She stopped. "How long is it going to be for?"_

_Derek sighed. "Four months."_

_Meredith scoffed. "All this over four months?" She laughed. "Derek, I was expecting you to say at least a year. Hun, we won't even have enough time to miss you," she said with a wink._

_This made Derek feel a bit better. "Are you sure?"_

_Meredith smiled again. "Absolutely positive. Besides, this is an amazing experience Derek! Look at it from a positive side."_

_He nodded. "Okay."_

"_So tell me about it," Meredith said, wanting to know more. Because in reality, she was scared as hell to let him go, she just did a good job at hiding it."_

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

"I don't know," Cristina said as she bit into her wrap. "I never believed in that kind of stuff."

Alex rolled his eyes. "Just because you don't believe in it, doesn't mean it's not real. I can promise you, it's legit."

Teddy laughed. "You guys are too entertaining. Have you always been like this? Bickering over everything?"

"Yes," Miranda and Callie said at the same time.

Lexie cut in. "I got hypnotized once," returning to the original subject. "It actually works."

Cristina rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I'm just saying, it wouldn't work on me. My mind is too focused."

Everyone just rolled their eyes and laughed.

Just then, Mark walked into the attending's lounge.

"If it isn't Chief Sloan," Callie exclaimed.

"Chief until Monday," he said excitedly. "As much as I enjoyed the experience, I don't think it's for me. Besides, I'd rather have Derek back than be chief anyway."

Everyone agreed. Even after four months, people still couldn't believe Derek put Mark in charge. However, he had proved he was very capable and people were impressed. Derek knew what he was doing when he decided to put Mark in charge.

_*December 14__th__ 2014*_

"_Mark!" Derek exclaimed when his best friend made his way into his office. "Come take a seat." _

_Mark did as he was told. "Umm, am I in trouble?"_

_Derek gave him a funny look. "No… Should you be?"_

_Mark shook his head. "I don't think so. But this brings back too many memories of being called to the principal's office in middle school." He thought it over. "Fine. During all my years in school."_

_Derek laughed. "Oh, the good 'ole days."_

_Mark smiled. "So if I'm not in trouble, what's up?"_

_Derek slide a piece of paper across his desk. _

"_What's this?"_

_Derek pointed to the document. "When signed, that states that you are to be named acting Chief of surgery in my absence."_

_Mark was speechless. _

_Derek smiled at the reaction. "I was hoping you'd be pleased."_

_Mark nodded. "I'm honored. You have no idea how crushed I was all those years ago, when I was supposed to cover your paternity leave and then… couldn't. And then you asked Addie when you went to New York that summer, because I was still, you know, recovering or whatever. I thought I had lost my chance…"_

_Derek shook his head. "Not at all. I just didn't want to give you more stress to deal with when you were still healing. We knew it was going to be a while before you were completely back to yourself, so Richard, and I made the decision together last time that we'd give it to Addie, in order to not put you under too much pressure. However, you have been back to normal for over a year now and we think it's about time you make up for leaving us shorthanded all those years ago."_

_Mark laughed. "This, this is completely unexpected. I really thought I had lost my chance." That's when he realized what his being temporary chief meant. "Wait, where are you going?"_

_Derek sighed. "Sudan."_

"_Why the hell are you going to Sudan?"_

_Derek explained to his best friend the situation, much in the same way he had explained it to Meredith a few days before, and then to his mother on the phone the previous night. Mark listened attentively, until Derek told him how long he'd be gone._

"_Four months!?" he exclaimed. "And Meredith is okay with this?"_

_Derek shrugged. "She keeps saying she's perfectly fine with it, but I truly don't know. She won't let me say no, knowing that I lose my job if I do. In all honesty, if it wasn't for the fact that I know she has so many people here to count on and to help her out, I probably would have declined, even if she insisted I go."_

_Mark nodded. "You know we'll have her back, no matter what." _

_Derek nodded. "I know. Am I ever glad I have all of you." He smiled before looking pointing back at the contract. "So I take it you accept?"_

_XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX_

_A few floors down, Meredith sat with Lexie in the attending's lounge. As it was just the two of them, Meredith figured she'd tell Lexie what was going on, leaving out the part where Derek would be asking Mark to be chief. She knew Mark would want to share that news._

"_Sudan for four months? Meredith, that's crazy… Are you sure you're okay with it?" _

_Meredith nodded. "I am. It doesn't mean that I'm not scared to death and that I'm not going to worry the entire time he's gone. But I can't let him give up his career over it, not after everything he's done to make it to where he is. He's already given up so much for our family, I can't let him do more."_

_Lexie nodded. "You're so strong Mer. I don't think I'd be able to do it."_

_Meredith smiled. "You say that now, but you'd be surprised how much you'd be willing to do for the person you love when the moment presents itself. I'll be alright. Besides, that's why I've got all of you."_

"_Anytime you need me, I'll be there for you," Lexie said as she rested her hand on Meredith's shoulder. "Hell, if you want to come live with Mark and I for a little while, we've got an extra bedroom. The room's big enough for the three of you, or we can do some rearranging with the kids, maybe put the boys together and the girls together, or I can move Thomas into Celia's room for the time being and Kelsey and Keegan can have his room or-"_

_Meredith cut her off. "Lexie, we'll be alright. If I'm really having trouble, then I'll consider it, but Carolyn already said she'd come down and help if I needed it. But thank you."_

_Lexie smiled. "Anytime. And anytime you need a break or something, you know Mark and I will take one or both of the kids for a few nights. Celia would love to have Kelsey over anyway."_

"_I really appreciate it Lex," she said, so grateful to have such a great sister. She didn't know what she'd do without her. _

"_I know you'd do the same for me." She paused and thought about what she said." I take that back. You _did_ do the same for me. With Celia, when Mark was going through rough patches. It's the least I can do in return." She took a small pause. "So when does he leave?" _

"_The 27__th__ of December. He's scheduling his flight from New York, so that way he can spend as much time with the family as possible before heading out."_

_Lexie nodded. "That's good. Is Addie going to fill in while he's gone?"_

_Meredith shrugged, trying to hide the smile that was threatening to come out. "Not sure," she lied. "I guess we'll find out before long, won't we?"_

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

"Bye my little munchkins," Meredith said as Kelsey and Keegan leaned in to give her kisses. She watched them run off to find their friends. Kelsey quickly found Celia, Lexie's eldest, while Keegan joined Nathaniel by the blocks. Meredith laughed at how the kids had all managed to become friends with each other, even though she knew it was bound to happen.

She smiled as she ran into Jackson and Jessica on her way out the door. The little girl, who had just turned three in March, was the spitting image of her mother, simply with Jackson's darker complexion.

"Hello Jessica, how are you today?"

She smiled. "Good! I'm going to Grampy and Grammy's for supper tonight!"

Meredith laughed. "I know! Kelsey and Keegan and me are going too!"

Jessica looked up to her father excitedly. "Really?"

Jackson laughed. "I guess so."

She looked back at Meredith. "Is K-K in there?" she pointed to the daycare. K-K was what the kids at the daycare called Kelsey, as a lot of the kids had trouble pronouncing full names.

"She is, and she's looking forward to seeing you."

And the little girl was gone like that.

"Bye!" Jackson called out behind her, but he received no answer. The girl had already found her friends at the arts and crafts table, not having even noticed her father's goodbye.

Meredith laughed. "You get used to it after a while."

Jackson laughed too. "I swear, they're all growing up way too fast."

Meredith nodded. "Don't I know it. But soon enough, you'll have two to deal with."

Jackson smiled brightly. "And I can't wait. It'll be fun having a baby around again. It makes Cristina all gushy."

"It's quite the interesting sight," Meredith agreed with a laugh. "Cristina Yang, mother of two. God, it still shocks me all the time."

Jackson was about to say something, but was cut off by Richard.

"Meredith, Jackson!" he exclaimed. "The two of you are still bringing the families to dinner tonight I hope?"

They both nodded.

"And who knows, Derek might be among us too," Richard added, hoping to get some information from Meredith regarding Derek's arrival.

Meredith shrugged. "The new guy on the board, Dr. Jeffrey's I think is his name, informed me that he would be getting back sometime this week, but he wasn't able to specify when. Ever since the communication break, it's been hard to get any news at all, let alone specifics. I think that's been the toughest part of this whole thing, not being able to talk to Derek, send him letters, give him updates about everything."

They both nodded, knowing how hard Meredith had taken the news of the communication break.

_*January 13__th__ 2015*_

"_Dr. Shepherd," Dr. Wellington greeted. "Surprise seeing you here."_

_Meredith wasn't in the mood for pleasantries. She was here for one reason and one reason only. _

"_I was informed by a nurse today that all postal services are down in most of northern Africa because of arising conflict. What does that mean for Derek?"_

_Dr. Wellington sighed. "We have been informed of that too. I'm so sorry Meredith. I know this is hard on you-"_

_Meredith wasn't accepting apologies. "Not only can I not communicate with my husband, I have no way of knowing whether he is safe or not. You told us that even though he would have no access to modern forms of communication due to the poverty of the community he is spending the next four months working in, we would still be able to send him letters, stay in contact the old fashioned way. Now what?"_

_Dr. Wellington sighed. "We wait."_

_Meredith was incredulous. "What do you mean we wait?"_

"_We wait until communications are back up and running smoothly."_

_Meredith couldn't believe this. "What if that doesn't happen? How do we know if he's okay, if he's even alive?" She was being dramatic, but she needed answers. _

"_Doctors Without Borders have people in a community a few hours away. They have access to phones. The association is often in communication with them, and they are going to make bi-weekly trips to visit your husband and the other doctor working in Blue Nile, and they will let us know."_

_Meredith nodded, not happy but accepting this. "I better get a phone call directly from you every two weeks then. If I don't, I'll be back in this office, I can promise you that."_

_Dr. Wellington nodded. "I wouldn't have it any other way."_

And Meredith did get her bi-weekly phone calls. Including today's. The board had called to assure her things were still fine and that Derek's flight back had been scheduled. They didn't have any details on flight information, only that he would be leaving Sudan sometime that day. However, between Sudan and Seattle, it could take up to four days. He would be home in maximum four days, and at this point, that was all that mattered.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Lexie lay spread out on the couch in the chief's office, laughing at Mark.

"Mark, he'll get here when he gets here," she said, referring to Derek's impeding arrival.

"I know, but I really miss the guy."

Lexie rolled her eyes. "We know. You've only said it about every day since about a month after he left."

Mark sighed. "He's my brother. And I'm used to seeing him pretty much every day."

Lexie couldn't help but giggle. "Would you be this bad if I left for four months?"

Mark stared at her. "Worse."

She laughed out loud. "I wouldn't want to be the person sitting here right now in that case."

He shook his head. "No you wouldn't."

Lexie got up from her seat and approached her husband who was sitting behind his desk. "Ready to give all of this up?"

He nodded. "You betcha! I want to be back in the OR all the time. Derek was right. Paperwork is gross."

Lexie thought back on the night that Mark had told her the news about his temporary position.

_*December 14__th__ 2014* _

"_Honey, I'm home!" _

_Lexie laughed at Mark's antics. But she was glad to see him so lively and gleeful again. For a little while, she was worried that carefree happy Mark would be gone forever. _

_She gasped as he came around the corner, a bouquet of flowers in hand. _

"_What's this for?" she asked as he passed them to her, accompanied with a kiss._

"_Can't I show my wife just how much I love her without having to justify my actions?"_

_Lexie gave him a suspicious look. _

"_Fine," Mark gave in. "It's my way of telling you that you are never allowed to leave me and go off to Sudan for four months, no matter how much I tell you I'm okay with it."_

_Lexie nodded. "Same goes to you. So, I take it that means you've been talking to Derek?"_

_Mark nodded as he took a seat at the kitchen counter while Lexie put the flowers in a vase. "Yeah. He called me to his office today. I then ran into Meredith on my way out tonight and that's how I knew you had heard too." _

_Lexie sighed. "I can't believe he's really going off. I mean, this is huge! I wouldn't want to be Meredith. Or the kids for that matter."_

_Mark shook his head. "It'll be tough on the three of them." He paused. "Speaking of kids…"_

_Lexie smiled. "They're both asleep. Celia had a long evening at the park with Dad and was exhausted by the time he got her home. She literally fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. Thomas was a little harder to get down, but better than usual."_

_Mark smiled. "You're such a great mother, you know that right?"_

_Lexie smiled back. "And you're a great dad. We make the perfect team."_

_Mark nodded. "That we do."_

_They quietly made their way up to their bedroom where they planned to do like the kids and get to bed early. _

"_Hey, so any idea who Derek is going to get to fill in as chief?"_

_Mark laughed. "I can give you a hint."_

_Lexie looked at him and could see the excitement radiating from his body._

"_Really? He asked you?"_

_Mark nodded excitedly. "That's why he wanted me in his office. I couldn't believe it!"_

_Lexie leaned over and kissed him. "I'm so glad. This is just another sign that you're back to normal."_

_Mark smiled. "That is, as normal as I'll ever get."_

**I want all the feedback I can get so let me know what you think! I know we didn't get to see very many of the characters in this chapter, but we'll see more as the chapters go by. I've got an entire chapter pretty much concentrated on the Shepherd's (all of them) and a chapter on Cristina and Jackson. Plus, there are a lot on Izzie and Izzie and Alex, on top of information on all the characters in Ever Ever After. I even have a few new characters that will be coming into play. I hope you enjoy!**


	3. Mothers and feelings

**Hey there ! I'm glad to have heard from some of you in regards to the last chapter ! I hope everyone is enjoying this story (:  
****So, in celebration of the Season 11 premiere tonight, here's the next chapter ! I don't know about the rest of you, but it looks like my Thursday night's now belong to Shonda Rhimes, the creator of this wonderful world (and others!).**

**Enjoy ! **

"How are the kids doing?"

Meredith had heard that the Corrigan kids were all in the hospital after Alyssa had contracted something. She knew Amy was worried sick, and had already offered to help her with anything. Amy was thankful to have family around all the time, and Meredith and Lexie both were always such supportive sisters. They fit right in with the rest of the Shepherd sister.

Amy sighed. "Alyssa's feeling better, and the others are being tested. But so far, it's all good news."

Meredith gave her sister-in-law a reassuring smile.

"Any news on Derek's impending arrival?"

She shook her head. "Not yet. They said anytime this week, so it could still be a few days."

Amy sighed. "God, it's so weird. I went, what? Four years without seeing him and although it hurt and I missed him, it was never like this. But ever since I've been in Seattle, he's always been there. I don't know how you can handle this."

Meredith smiled softly. "Knowing he's safe, and knowing that he's coming home keeps me sane."

"I feel like these were the slowest four months of my life," Amy said, shaking her head.

Meredith nodded. "Tell me about it."

"Christmas at moms seems like forever ago."

_*December 20__th__ 2014*_

"_Grandma!" _

_Carolyn smiled as Kelsey and Keegan came running towards her, Derek and Meredith not far behind. Their flight had been delayed, but they were just glad they made it there, and still sane at that. Traveling with two four year olds proved to be more complicated than they had initially thought. Their high energy and impatience was enough to make the two parents go crazy. Not to mention, Christmas was around the corner and this fact didn't go unnoticed._

"_Mom," Derek smiled as his mother opened up her arms to him. Meredith wasn't far behind._

"_How was the flight?" Carolyn asked as they made their way to the baggage collection._

_Meredith and Derek exchanged a look. "Long," they answered together. _

_Carolyn noticed the way they looked at the kids, and she understood right away. _

_She laughed. "Wait until there's even more of them. You'll never want to travel ever again."_

_They both nodded, knowing their mother was right. Two was bad enough._

"_Keegan, why don't you come hold mommy's hand?" Meredith said as she noticed Keegan getting a little bit ahead. Kelsey was clinging to her grandmother, talking her ear off._

"_But I want to go see if the presents made it okay!" _

_Meredith laughed. "That's where we're going darling. I just don't want to lose you in the crowd."_

_He huffed and rolled his eyes, something that both kids picked up from their mother. _

_Derek couldn't help but laugh. "When they roll their eyes like that, they're your kids," he said to Meredith. "Don't forget that."_

_She rolled her eyes at him and they both laughed. _

_Carolyn watched all of them interact, so happy to see everyone so happy. Especially considering Derek's impending departure just days away. _

"_You guys are still the sweetest couple I have ever seen you know," Carolyn said as they came to a stop at the baggage pick-up conveyor belt. "And you guys still look as in love as the day of your wedding, what? Four and half years ago now?"_

_Meredith and Derek exchanged a smile, before looking back at Carolyn. "We are," Derek said, squeezing Meredith's hand in his._

"_Don't ever lose that," Carolyn said, pointing at the two of them. "You guys remind me so much of your father and I." She stated this while looking at Derek. "He'd be so proud of the man you have become."_

_Derek smiled sadly. "Thanks mom."_

_Before they knew it, they had their bags and were in Carolyn's mini-van, almost at the homestead. _

"_Amy, Julian and the kids are already settled in and Natalie's been waiting impatiently for all of you to get here. She can't wait to see you guys."_

_Meredith laughed. "I know. I've been hearing from her all week. If it's not a phone call, it's a text. I even got a message on Facebook from her. I'm looking forward to seeing her too."_

"_Mark, Lexie and the kids were leaving a little bit later. Mark had to work until 4, and I think they were going to the airport straight from the hospital," Derek informed his mother._

_Carolyn nodded. "Good. It'll be nice to have all of my kids together again."_

_They all nodded, looking forward to the reunion that was awaiting them. _

"_When do Kath and Nance get here?" Derek asked as Carolyn pulled into her driveway and parked the car. _

"_They're both driving down tomorrow and should be here in time for supper. It'll give us plenty of time for all the Christmas fun I have planned."_

_Derek laughed. "God, I can't believe Kath's a grandmother. It makes _me_ feel old," he said as watched his kids run off towards the house, where they knew their cousins would be waiting. _

"_How do you think it makes me feel?" Carolyn exclaimed as they started pulling bags out from the trunk. _

_Derek didn't have time to react. _

"_Meredith! Derbear!" _

_He laughed as Natalie rushed out of their mother's front door and greeted them. _

"_I saw the kids race in and I knew what that meant! God, it's been way too long."_

_Meredith agreed. They hadn't seen Natalie since the summer of 2013. Last Christmas, there had been a massive storm and all flights had been cancelled, so the crew from Seattle wasn't able to make it to New York. And Natalie and Cory had decided to spend Easter with Cory's family in Colorado, so they didn't make it to Kathleen's. And thanksgiving this year had been quiet because Mark and Amy had both been gone to a conference and Ben and Lucas had a big hockey tournament. It had sort of become tradition that Thanksgiving was in Seattle, Christmas was in New York and Easter was in Connecticut. But the year that had passed had been such a crazy one that it just hadn't fallen like it was supposed to. _

"_I'm just glad that you guys are finally here!" _

_Natalie helped bring bags inside and the four adults headed into the house. Inside, there was a choir of greetings, and Carolyn smiled as she took it all in. _

"_How long are you planning on staying with us Meredith?" she asked, knowing that Derek was leaving on the 27__th__._

_She shrugged. "Lexie and I are planning on staying until after the New Year. Mark needs to get back to Seattle on the 29__th__, but Lex and I decided we'd stay around a bit longer. We haven't booked flights back yet, and after today's trip, I'm kind of dreading it," she finished with a laugh. _

_Carolyn smiled. "Well, you guys are welcome to stay as long as you wish." _

_Derek was glad that Carolyn and Meredith had such a great relationship. It comforted him to know that Meredith would have her if anything were to happen to him. _

_He shook the thought from his head and decided that he wouldn't dwell on his upcoming departure. He wouldn't let it get in the way of his holidays. _

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Miranda, like many other doctors in the hospital, had a hard time not stopping by the daycare every chance she got. When Tuck had been little, she snuck in as many visits as she could manage between surgeries, but tended to focus on her work more than on her son. She decided the moment she had found out that she was pregnant again that she would not make the same mistake twice.

She smiled when she spotted Danielle sitting next to Celia and Kelsey in the reading circle. Taylor, a young high school student, volunteered at the day care every day for an hour and the girls absolutely loved her. She thought of all the times that Danielle came home telling yet another story about the day care and of her friends. She laughed as she thought back on the young girl's 3rd birthday.

_*May 23__rd__ 2014* _

"_Slow down there princess!" Ben called out as he caught up to his daughter. "You're going to get hurt."_

_She stopped, but still couldn't keep still. "What time is it? What time is it?"_

_Ben smiled. "It's almost 2 o'clock. Your friends will be here soon."_

_She started up again. _

"_Danielle! Slow down!" _

_Miranda came in through the front door at that exact moment. "I'm sorry I'm late," she said breathlessly as Ben leaned down to kiss her. "I got caught up at work, then there was an issue with the cake and – "_

_He laughed. "It's fine. No one's here yet, and Tuck and I still have plenty of time to get to the game."_

_Just then, the young boy in question came barreling down the stairs in his baseball uniform. "Have either of you seen my glove?"_

_Ben pointed towards the laundry room. "Second shelf to the right."_

_He smiled. "Thanks."_

_Once Tuck disappeared, Miranda couldn't help but smile. "Have I ever told you how much I love that you and Tuck get along so well?" _

_Ben laughed. "Only every day."_

_It was at that moment that Danielle came barreling in again. "Mommy! Are they here yet, are they here yet?" _

_Miranda laughed at the young girl's enthusiasm. "Not yet, but it won't be long." _

_And she was gone again, this time heading towards the patio door._

"_Watch it on the steps!" Miranda called out. She let out a deep breath. "And to think that it hasn't even started yet."_

_Ben wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "Are you sure you don't need help? Tuck already said it was fine if I came back after I dropped him off." _

_Miranda shook her head. "No, this is your boys' day. Tuck needs that right now, especially with his father gone."_

_Tuck's father had just recently moved to California with his new wife. The boy would only get to see his father on holidays and for three weeks during the summer. He was taking it a bit tough. _

"_Are you sure?"_

_Miranda shooed him. "Yes, yes. You guys have a good time. Besides, Meredith and Cristina have agreed to stay with me. Three adults for six little girls. We'll be fine." _

_Just then, the doorbell rang._

"_I'll get it! Danielle yelled from the other end of the house. It was only seconds later that she was at the door. _

"_Kelsey! Celia!" _

_The little girls followed Danielle through the house and to the backyard before Miranda even had a chance to say hello. _

_Meredith laughed as she watched the kids run off. "I swear, they've been up since 5:30 this morning and every second thing one of them has said has to do with this birthday party."_

_Miranda laughed. "I've been able to avoid the birthday excitement up until now. Poor Ben was the one up at 4:00 this morning." _

_Miranda led Meredith through the house and to the backyard where the girls were already playing on the playset._

"_Thomas still sick?" Miranda asked, referring to the fact that Meredith mentioned that Celia had been with her that morning at 5:30._

_Meredith nodded. "The poor kid. Lexie's been in and out of the hospital with him for the past five days and nothing seems to be helping. Mark volunteered to come home early from his conference, but Lexie insisted she was alright. Derek and I have had Celia with us for the last three nights."_

_Just then, the doorbell rang again. _

"_Do you mind keeping an eye on the girls while I get that?" Miranda asked as she stood up. _

"_No problem."_

_It wasn't long before there were two other little girls in the mix. Chelsey and Charlie were one of the hospital's nurse's daughters and were friends of Danielle's from the daycare. All the girls were close at the daycare and Meredith couldn't help but smile at how well they all got along. _

"_We could hear all the commotion from the driveway and figured we'd just come around back."_

_Miranda and Meredith both looked up as Cristina and Jessica came around the corner of the house. Jessica was the youngest one there and had a tendency of taking a while to come out of her shell. She was clutching her mother's hand as Cristina came and sat at the picnic table with Meredith and Miranda. _

"_Hey sweetie," Cristina said as she ran her fingers through her daughter's hair. "Do you want to go play with the others? Look! It's Danielle, and Kelsey, and Celia, and – "_

_Before she had a chance to finish, Kelsey had come barreling over. "Jessie! Jessie! Come play with us!" _

_Kelsey had grabbed the younger girl's hand and the two of them were gone. _

_Meredith smiled. "God, they're just too adorable when they're all together."_

_Miranda and Cristina agreed. _

"_It's crazy to think Danielle is three already," Cristina said as she shook her head. "Jessica just turned two, and I have trouble figuring out where the time has gone."_

_Miranda nodded. "I know, it's just crazy."_

"_Tuck's turning into quite the big guy too," Meredith said, having seen him leave with Ben. _

_Miranda pointed towards the Kelsey. "The twins, those are the ones I can't believe have grown so fast. Those little miracle babies. It's crazy to think that this time four years ago, we were all watching out for you three."_

_Meredith laughed. "It's been quite the road, that's for sure!" _

"_You can say that again," Cristina said with a nod as she poured herself a glass of lemonade from the pitcher on the table. "Never can I say that I pictured myself here someday."_

_Miranda burst out laughing. "You two were my interns not too long ago. How do you think I feel? One day, you two are driving me up the wall, the next, you're sitting with me in my backyard drinking lemonade. That's what's crazy in all of this."_

_The two others laughed and turned back towards the kids, taking it all in. _

Miranda smiled at the memory. Just as she turned around to head back to work, she ran into two more familiar faces.

"Good morning Dustin," she said as she crouched down to the boy's level. The one year old had just recently started walking and was still a little unsteady on his feet. He clung to his mother's hands, who was standing watchfully behind him.

"Good morning Dr. Bailey."

Miranda looked up and smirked. "Good morning Dr. Stevens." She paused before she continued. "You know, I was just thinking about Danielle's birthday last year and how I spent it with Meredith and Cristina, and we laughed about just how crazy it's been. You guys were all my interns not so long ago, and now you're all so much more."

Izzie laughed. "Agreed."

Dustin let go of his mother's hands and waddled towards the door.

"In! In!"

Izzie laughed as she opened the door and her son rushed in. She looked through the window, and watched as the little boy joined the group at the reading circle. She looked up, spotted Darla, the daycare director, and they exchanged a smile and a wave, confirming that Darla had noticed Dustin's arrival.

Izzie glanced once more towards her son, seated next to Thomas. She smiled before turning around, heading to work.

"You know, it's been great having you back at the hospital," Miranda said as the two of them made it towards the attending's lounge. "And I heard about your good news. Congratulations!"

Izzie smiled brightly. "Thanks. It's been great being back. I mean, I loved the mother's house, but right from the opening, it was clear the Elisabeth was going to take over before long and that's all I could dream for her. After having been back here with her, first with her accident and then when Kristopher was born, then having seen Meredith in here, the accident, Mark… I knew I couldn't let my skills go to waste."

And that she didn't.

_*March 2__nd__ 2011*_

"_Izzie!" Derek exclaimed when she walked into his office. "What brings you to the hospital?" _

_She looked at the seat facing the chief of surgery. "Do you mind if I sit?"_

_Derek shook his head. "Not a problem. So, what can I do for you today? Is it about the home?"_

_Izzie shook her head. "Not really. Well actually…"_

_The home, as it was partially funded by the hospital, partly belonged to the hospital. This meant that any executive decisions were made with the input of the board member that sat on the home's small board, which happened to be Derek, since he had volunteered. _

"… _since you mention it, I would like to resign from my position as manager of the home. I want to offer the position to Elisabeth. Kristopher is 5 months old now and she wants to get back to work, and what better place than running the home she inspired? That way, she won't be far from Kristopher either."_

_Derek was surprised. "Does Meredith know about this?"_

_Izzie nodded and smiled. "Yes, and she thinks it's a great idea too."_

_Derek nodded slowly, but one thing didn't fit. "Have you found another job? Is that why?"_

_Izzie shook her head. "No. Actually, that's why I'm here. The reason I want to resign from working at the home is because I want to go back to being a surgeon."_

_Derek couldn't help but smile brightly. "Izzie! That's wonderful news! We'd be delighted to have you back in the program, if that's what you wish?"_

_She nodded. "It is. I know I missed a few years, what with the cancer and leaving and… everything else in between. I'm willing to start my residency over from scratch, do whatever it takes. I… I'll even go back to being an intern if I have to… Just don't make me Alex's intern, okay?"_

_Derek laughed. "No interning this time. Tell you what, I'll assign you to a resident for the first few months, they can assess where you are at and then we'll decide how we're going to proceed. How does that sound?"_

_Izzie smiled. "It sounds perfect. Thank you so much Derek."_

_Later that day, Derek was scrubbing in on a surgery with Richard and Miranda, and thought he'd mention the news._

"_That's great!" Richard exclaimed. Miranda agreed. "I knew she'd come back sooner or later."_

"_When does she start back?" Miranda asked._

"_On Monday," Derek answered as the three headed into the OR. "I'm planning on pairing her up with a resident for a month or so in order for her to get back in the rhythm of it all. I'm trying to avoid Karev, for obvious reasons, and I even hesitate putting her with Cristina or Meredith. I mean, they all started together. No need to remind her that she missed out on a few years." He looked between the two attendings in front of him. "Any suggestions?"_

"_I'll take her," Miranda said. _

"_What?"_

_Miranda shrugged. "I mean, I know I'm not a resident, but this is Izzie Steven's we're talking about. She _was_ my intern, so I already know how to handle her. Besides, I miss having someone to boss around," she finished with a laugh. _

_The other two joined her. _

"_Are you sure?" Derek asked. _

_Miranda smiled under her surgical mask, but Derek could see it in her eyes. "Positive. She won't be stuck with someone who she started off with, which will be good on the self-esteem. I'm general, so I literally operate with every other field, giving her the opportunity to see everything again before she needs to decide on a specialty. And besides, even interns operate without being supervised by their resident so what would make it different in this case if I let her off on her own? And you said a month or so, which is perfect, because in a month or so, I'll be out of here for a little while anyway," she said as she rubbed her very pregnant stomach. "I'd be delighted to have her back."_

Izzie smiled as she thought of the last few years back in the hospital. She looked back at Miranda. "You know, I was so grateful when I found out Derek was placing me with you. It really was an adventure."

Miranda nodded and laughed. "It really was. I swear, although Meredith and Cristina and I have become close through our kids, you and I became friends just because. I can't believe I'm really, truly friends with my interns."

Izzie laughed too. "You know you've become friends with your interns when you become two of your interns' son's godmother."

Miranda nodded. "I think I nearly cried when you and Alex asked. I never saw that coming."

Izzie shrugged. "You've been there since the beginning of Alex and I. You're pretty much what brought us together. Not intentionally, but because you were stuck with Alex, we were all stuck with Alex." They laughed. "And you were there by my side throughout the entire process, with the tests, and the conception, and then everything else… We were so nervous that this whole in-vitro thing wasn't going to work, but you kept making us hopeful. And it worked and now we have Dustin. So it was a great big thank you."

They were now at the attending's lounge, and Miranda just smiled and gave Izzie a brief hug, saying a quick goodbye, before heading off to see her patient.

She didn't want Izzie to see her tear up as she went.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

_* December 30__th__ 2014*_

"_Meredith sweetie?" Carolyn called out while she headed up the stairs. _

"_In Derek's room!" she called out._

_Carolyn walked over to the opened door and found Meredith putting away the twin's clothes. _

"_Natalie, Amy, Kathleen and I are going into town for a while. We wanted to know if you wanted to join us. We figured since the twins were with their cousins and that they were out of your hair for at least a few hours, you could use a few hours of adult time."_

_Meredith thought about for a few moments. "I… I think I'm going to stay here actually. The house it quiet, I might try to get a little bit of sleep."_

_Carolyn nodded, but didn't leave. Instead she sat down next to Meredith on the bed. She could tell by the look in Meredith's eyes that she was holding back. _

"_Hey Meredith hun. You know if you need someone to talk to, I'm here..."_

_Meredith nodded. "I… I know…"_

_Carolyn took a short pause before asking the question everyone had been avoiding since Derek had left. _

"_How are you holding up?"_

_Meredith sighed. "I really don't know what I'm feeling. I'm glad he made it there safe and sound, but not being able to call him is going to be tough. Letters," she said with a laugh. "It's been a while." _

_Carolyn laughed too. "You'll get used to it. And besides, it'll go by faster than you can imagine."_

_Meredith smiled. "I hope so."_

_Carolyn got up, and was about to leave, but decided against it and sat back down._

_Meredith gave her a puzzled look. _

"_Meredith… I…" She took a deep breath. "I get these motherly feelings. A lot. And often, these motherly feelings don't steer me wrong. But lately, especially because of Christmas and having everyone around and all that, my motherly feelings have been… Well, delayed, if you want to put it that way. And you can't hate me but..."_

_Meredith shook her head. "Carolyn, I could never hate you, not even if I tried. What… what is it?"_

_Carolyn looked her in the eye. "Remember the first time you came out to New York? Remember what I told you in the airport?"_

_Meredith thought back, then nodded. "Yeah. You made a comment about grandbabies." She laughed. "You freaked me out, but it was worth it."_

_Carolyn smiled, but Meredith could see it wasn't a full smile. "Meredith…" She pulled out a pregnancy test from her jacket pocket. _

_Meredith just eyed it, before looking up to meet Carolyn's eyes. She didn't say anything. _

_And neither did Carolyn. Not right away at least. She just got up and headed towards the door. But before leaving Meredith's sight, she turned around and faced her. _

"_I'm sorry I didn't figure it out sooner."_

_And with that she was gone. _

_Twenty minutes later, Meredith sat alone in the bathroom, staring at the little pink plus sign that stared back at her. _

_She didn't know what she felt, with Derek gone and this big news now weighing on her shoulders, but she couldn't help but smile. _

_Another Shepherd baby was on its way._

**Woot woot! Another chapter done! I hope everyone enjoyed and I hope to hear from all of you ! (:**


	4. Cotton Candy Ice Cream

"How far along are you?"

Meredith looked down to her patient, a confused look on her face. "Excuse me?"

The patient laughed. "I'm an OBGYN for a small practice just outside of Seattle. I'm not shy about asking these kinds of things."

Meredith smiled as she wrote a few things down on a chart. "In that case, I'm about 5 months along."

The patient, Julia, nodded. "Is this your first?"

Meredith shook her head. "Nope. I have twins. 4 and a half years old."

Julia laughed. "Twins! And that hasn't scared you off?"

Meredith couldn't help but laugh too. "Nope."

"We need more women like you out there Dr. Shepherd," Julia said with a wink. "You're married to Dr. Derek Shepherd, aren't you?"

Meredith gave her a weird look. "Yes, I am… How… did-"

Julia cut her off. "This isn't my first brain surgery. I've had Dr. Shepherd twice already. I asked for him again, but they said he wouldn't be available until next week. And as you can see…" she said as she pointed towards her scans, "next week was risking it."

Meredith nodded. "I agree."

"But I've been assured that you're great. So I have faith in you."

Meredith smiled. "Good, I'm glad. Derek has taught me everything he knows, or so he says, so I hope that helps."

Julia smiled too. "So," she said after a few moments of silence, "Dr. Shepherd – the other one – he must be thrilled about this baby. I mean, last time I was in – what was it… 2 years ago? – he couldn't stop talking about his kids. Hmmm …. They both start with a K, am I right?"

Meredith laughed. "Yes, Kelsey and Keegan."

"The twins!" she exclaimed. "It all makes sense."

Meredith nodded, then her face filled with sadness. "I… I honestly don't know how he feels."

Julia looked at her, confusion written on her face. "What… what do you mean?"

Meredith looked at her patient, checked the time, and figured she could sit down for a few minutes. Besides, she was waiting for Julia's last test results and couldn't get her prepped until they were back.

"It's a little crazy. You sure you want to hear about it?"

Julia nodded. "Nothing better to do!"

Meredith gave her a small smile before starting.

"Derek's been in Sudan, working for Doctors Without Borders since just before I found out." Meredith couldn't help but roll her eyes when she thought about how it all started. "He was told that he would lose his job if he didn't go because of a contract he signed. He trusted the man who told him this, so didn't even look into it. Little did he know, he was being played and had he have said no, they couldn't do anything about it."

Meredith remembered the visit she had received just the week before.

_*April 17__th__ 2015* _

_Meredith was sitting in the cafeteria with Lexie when a man in a uniform approached them. _

"_Are you Dr. Meredith Shepherd?" the man asked, directing his question towards Meredith. _

_Meredith took a deep breath. She had a bad feeling about this. _

"_Yes… yes I am… How- how can I help you?"_

_The man kept a straight face but Meredith knew right away it was about Derek._

"_Oh God, it's about my husband, isn't it?" _

_Lexie immediately rested a hand on her sister's lap as Meredith started to fall apart in front of her. _

_The cop was taken aback by Meredith's reaction. _

"_Is he… dead?"_

_The cop was quick to shake his head. "No, not at all. We are actually here to inform you that Dr. Wellington has been arrested." _

_Meredith was shocked. "What…?"_

_The cop explained that Dr. Wellington had been asked to find someone to send to Doctors Without Borders and was getting a good sum of cash if he could manage. They were having difficulties as of late to find people to go, especially in the areas that were war stricken, like Blue Nile. Dr. Wellington couldn't find anyone who'd volunteer, but needed the money because he was in debt. After having done some research, he discovered that Derek was on probation for another few years due to the contract he had signed when he had first come to Seattle Grace. He used this against Derek, illegally trapping him into signing the contract with Doctors Without Borders. He had received the money and thought he had gotten away with it. _

"_A few weeks ago, your husband was discussing with his fellow doctor in Blue Nile how he ended up there and the doctor, who has been with DWB for years knew that that wasn't right. He reported it to the doctor who communicates with the Doctors Without Borders headquarters and they contacted the police. Dr. Shepherd is now aware of what has happened and, since his contract is almost completed anyway, will be staying until he was supposed to. He will however receive the money that Dr. Wellington was given as a compensation for what he was forced into." _

_Meredith was dumbstruck. She didn't know what to say. _

_So she just nodded and thanked the officer quickly. _

"_Meredith?" Lexie asked, after the cop had left. "Are… are you okay?"_

_Meredith nodded slowly. "He's okay. And he's coming back. I…" She looked up at her little sister. "That's all that matters right now. Dr. Wellington will get what he deserves."_

"God! That's terrible!"

Meredith returned to the present and looked over at her patient and nodded. "But as you already know, he's coming back very soon and that's all that matters right now."

Julia nodded too. "So… Have you not been able to stay in contact? You'd think they'd let you stay connected."

Meredith sighed. "We were told we'd be able to send letters. As soon as I found out I was pregnant and had my head wrapped around the idea, I wrote a letter. I found out a few days after I sent it that communications had been cut." She explained to Julia what Dr. Wellington had told her, about the war breaking out and so on. "I don't know whether the letter ever made it or not. I wanted to tell him, for him to hear it from me and there was no way I was going to get someone to pass along such a message, even if I was given the opportunity."

"I can understand. But I hope that you've had people around anyway."

Meredith smiled. "Oh, I'm definitely not lacking in support. But I kind of hate how pretty much everyone knows except for Derek."

Julia smiled. "It won't be long."

Meredith smiled back. "No, not long at all."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

_*December 30__th__ 2014*_

_Meredith sat in the kitchen, a hot chocolate in hand. She kept seeing the little plus sign in her head, and even in the circumstances, every time, she smiled. She and Derek had always planned on having more kids. Four was the magic number after all, but she didn't think about it actually happening. Her body had taken a lot more time to recover after Kelsey and Keegan than most bodies took, and Addison had told her there was a chance that she may never be able to get pregnant again. She encouraged Meredith and Derek to see a fertility doctor whenever they planned on trying again, just so they could know what their odds were. _

_It looked like for once, Addie was wrong. _

"_We're back!" _

_Meredith smiled when she watched the kids come through the doorway, red cheeks and messy hair. Kelsey and Keegan were among the large group of cousins who had spent the afternoon tobogganing in a nearby park. _

"_Did you guys have fun?" Meredith asked while she helped Kelsey take off her snowsuit. _

_Kelsey nodded excitedly. "Mommy! It was huuuuuuuge!" _

_Samuel laughed as he helped Keegan with his boots. "I promise Aunt Meredith, it wasn't all that huge." _

_Meredith laughed too. "I trust you kids. But I'm glad everyone seemed to have had fun."_

_The kids had all grown up so much since the first time she had met them. She had had the chance to watch Kayla, Alyssa, Daniel and Joshua, Amy's youngest, grow up since they were in Seattle, but seeing the others was almost overwhelming. _

_She watched as Laura and Ashley, along with Alyssa, ran off towards the door leading to the playroom downstairs. The three girls were now between the ages of 7 and 9, which was a big difference from the toddlers that had been her flower girls. _

_Natalie's three others were just coming in the doorway. Tessa had gone from being that cute little pre-teen to a true teenager. Ben and Lucas were now in those awkward 12 and 14 year old bodies, the age where braces and pimples were making their statements. Both boys had been lucky enough to have skin that wasn't too blotchy, but both of their smiled revealed their braces. _

_Samuel and Steven, who had been in that mischievous, pre-teen stage when Meredith had first met them were now 16 and from what she had heard during the weekend, were altogether amazing kids. Steven, who was outside putting away all the sleds, had been named captain of his school's football team for the 2015 fall season at the end of the season that had just ended and Samuel, who was still helping her wiggling son, was class president and planning on running for student body president in his senior year. The boys had matured so much, and out of all the cousins, they were the ones who had most stunned the aunts and uncles, and even Carolyn, with the drastic changes. _

_Hailey was across the room helping Celia and Joshua out of their snowsuits. The young woman was in her first year at Columbia and was proving to her family that, even though she had struggled a bit in high school, after having gotten in with the wrong crowd, she was still capable of anything she set her mind to. With her staying in New York rather than in Connecticut with Nancy and Stanley, she spent most weekends at her grandmother's and Carolyn beamed when she would talk about all the things they got to do. _

_Kaitlyn and Jayden, who were currently in the kitchen starting supper, had decided that past summer that they were going to go to Haiti for a year to work with a relief foundation. Both Nancy and Kathleen had been so hesitant to let them go when they had found out, but knowing that the girls would have each other helped soothe their motherly fears. As they had both completed college the year before, Kaitlyn in nutrition and Jayden in nursing, the girls wanted to live an adventure before settling down and starting their lives. Their mothers had given in and this was the first time they had seen their daughters since September. Both girls had flown in to New York just a few days before Christmas and the excitement in the Shepherd house had been crazy. They were going to be home until the end of January, then they would head back out to complete finish their contracts, which ended in June. _

_Carlie and Kristen, along with Lexie, were upstairs with Thomas and William, William being Andrew and Kristen's son. Andrew and Kristen had gotten married in New York the summer that Meredith and Derek had spent there and the little boy had been born that Christmas in the midst of a blizzard. The little boy had however, just days before, celebrated his first birthday with his family. Andrew was outside with the other men chopping wood for Carolyn's new woodstove, a Christmas gift from the family. Carolyn insisted every year that she didn't need anyone spending money on her, so every year the kids all pitched in on one big gift that would be truly useful rather than pointless knick knacks. That way, Carolyn was never too mad. _

_In a moment, the living room had gone from very quiet to overly loud. Meredith couldn't help but smile as the kids all went on about the day they had spent. Even Tessa, Samuel, Steven and Hailey, who seemed too old for such an activity, shared stories of the younger ones. _

"_You guys realize how great you all are, right?" Meredith said. _

_Hailey shrugged. "It's great to see them all so happy. If we can make them happy, that's what counts. Besides, it's fun feeling like a little kid again."_

_Tessa piped up. "Plus, we don't get to see everyone very often. This gives us the opportunity to spend time together, just us kids."_

_Meredith smiled as she watched them all. _

"_20 grandchildren and 1 great grandson. That tends to fill a woman's house. And her heart."_

_Meredith looked over her to Carolyn, who stood behind her, watching the scene unfold. _

"_I didn't even realize you guys were back." _

_Carolyn laughed. "We came in through the garage when we saw that there was no way we were getting in the front door. Not with all these guys scrambling around."_

_Kelsey was finally freed from her snowsuit and rushed towards the stairs, the same direction all the other kids seemed to have had taken. _

_Before they knew it, the living room had emptied out once again and it was only Meredith and Carolyn. _

"_Where did all the girls go?"_

_Carolyn smiled. "They went to help Jayden and Kaitlin. Cooking for nearly 35 people at once can prove to be an exhausting task."_

_Meredith nodded. "So I have come to learn. I should probably make myself useful and go help."_

_Before Meredith had a chance to leave, Carolyn grabbed her gently by the wrist. "So…?"_

_Meredith smiled and nodded. _

_Carolyn's face beamed. "Congratulations Meredith! This is so exciting!"_

_Meredith nodded again. "I know! I just wish I could share this moment with Derek…"_

_Carolyn sighed. "I know. I wish I could have spotted it earlier. I just – "_

_Meredith cut her off. "You need to stop badgering yourself. I'm the one who's been pregnant all this time. I should have figured it out earlier. You're in no way to blame for the bad timing."_

_Carolyn nodded. "Okay okay." She paused before continuing. "Are you going to tell the girls?"_

_Meredith shook her head. "I want to tell Derek first. It should only take about a week for me to get a letter to him and another week for me to get his reply. I'll start telling people after I know Derek knows." _

_Carolyn squeezed her hand. "I think that sounds like a good plan." _

_XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX_

_*January 13__th__ 2015*_

"_Meredith! Meredith, are you okay?"_

_Meredith stood in Addison's office, shaking from the news she had just received about the current situation in Sudan. She was scared as hell, and she hated not knowing anything. Her blood was pumping and her heart was racing. That's why she had come straight to Addie. _

"_Addie… I…" She took a deep breath. "I hate doing this to Derek, again, but I need you to know…"_

_Addison got up from behind her desk. "Meredith…?"_

_Meredith swiped at the tears that had started falling. "Pregnancy number two and once again you get to hear about it before him."_

_Addison had immediately wrapped Meredith in her arms. "Oh hun. What's going on?"_

_Meredith had explained what Dr. Wellington had told her just earlier that day. She then explained that she had sent a letter to Derek about the pregnancy, having found out thanks to Carolyn, but that she had no idea whether Derek had gotten the letter or not since the communication was now down._

"_So I have no idea if he's even okay, let alone whether he got the news." _

_Addie just took Meredith's hands in her own. "I really don't know what to tell you, other than I really think we should get you checked out. You may not be able to control the situation Derek is in, but this situation you can, and we will, okay?"_

_Meredith nodded slowly, and soon enough they were heading towards the maternity ward where Addison would make sure everything was alright._

"_Everything looks good and on track Meredith," Addison said with a small smile when she got a look at the ultrasound. "Do you want to hear the heartbeat?"_

_Meredith nodded. _

_She may have already been through this once before, but the sound was still amazing. _

"_I honestly didn't think I'd get to go through this again," Meredith admitted, knowing Addie understood what she meant. _

_Addie shook her head. "Me neither. But I'm glad that I was wrong about this."_

_Meredith revealed a small smiled. "Me too."_

_Addie rested her hand on her shoulder. "Derek is going to be thrilled when he finds out, and he will find out sooner or later. That's what truly matters."_

_Meredith nodded. "I guess."_

_Addie gave her shoulder a squeeze. "Have you talked to anyone yet, other than me and Carolyn?"_

_Meredith shook her head. "No. I was waiting to hear from Derek, but now…"_

_Addie sighed. "I know you want Derek to be the first one to know, but you're going to need people Meredith and I know it's hard to accept this, but Derek can't be there right now. I will be there for you no matter what, and Carolyn too, but you need to at least tell your people. Talk to Lexie and Cristina, if only them. Miranda's always a good choice too. Meredith…"_

_Meredith took a deep breath. "I'll tell them all. Today. I promise Addie. As much as I wish Derek could be the first to know – and I do hope he got my letter, at least – I know that that's not possible right now and I won't let that drag me down. I'm going to talk to Lexie and Cristina today. They'll be there for me, I know they will."_

_And with that, Addie sent her on her way, just hoping Meredith would be okay this time around._

_In the meantime, Meredith made her way to the nurse's station where she found her sister looking at her charts. _

"_Meredith! God, I heard about what's going on, with the break in communication. Is it affecting Derek?"_

_Meredith nodded and all the nurses listened close. "I can't send him letters anymore. I'll get a bi-weekly update of his status through the association, but that's about it. I…" She thought about what she was about to ask. "Is Mark in the chief's office?"_

_Lexie scrunched up her eyebrows, but nodded. "He should be… why?"_

"_I… I think I should give him an update. Care to join me?"_

_Lexie saw the look in Meredith's eye and knew that her sister wanted her to follow._

"_I guess I could spare you a few minutes of my time."_

_Meredith smiled in appreciation. She really did have the best sister ever._

_It wasn't long before both Meredith and Lexie were standing in Mark's office. _

"_Meredith," Mark said, wrapping his sister-in-law in his arms. "I'm so sorry."_

_Meredith nodded into his chest. "Thank you, for being there."_

_Mark pulled away, but keeping Meredith close. "Anytime, for anything at all. You know we're never far and always available to help out with anything."_

_Meredith nodded and hesitated before speaking up, but she remembered what Addie had told her. "There's actually something else I wanted to talk to you guys about…" _

_Lexie right away saw the look in her sister's eye. "What's wrong Mer?"_

_Meredith shook her head. "Nothing wrong, not really… Other than the fact that you guys get to hear this before Derek does, because of the circumstances, which have screwed everything up it seems, but I need to talk to someone and Addie said –"_

_At the name Addie, Mark and Lexie both reacted, Lexie by covering her mouth and Mark by going wide eyed. _

_At the same time, they both exclaimed what Meredith was trying to get across to them. "You're pregnant!"_

_Meredith smiled and nodded. "I am."_

_They both brought her in for another hug, giving her a pat on the back and making Meredith smile even more. Just knowing she had people made things so much easier. _

"_This is great news Meredith!" Lexie said, not able to wipe the smile from her face. "You and Derek always said you wanted more kids. The timing might be a little off, but –"_

_Meredith cut her off. "It's still the greatest gift of all. We weren't sure if I'd ever be able to get pregnant again, not after the twins and the mess they made of my body."_

_Mark just kept smiling. "Carolyn is going to be thrilled about the news of more babies."_

_Meredith laughed. "Baby. Singular. There better not be more than one this time." They all laughed. "And Carolyn already knows. She's the one who brought me the pregnancy test."_

_Lexie seemed shocked. "You've known since New York?"_

_Meredith nodded. "I have. I didn't say anything because I wanted Derek to know first, but with today's news…"_

_They both nodded. They understood. _

_And that's all Meredith could ask for._

_XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX_

_That same day, later on in the evening, Meredith found herself cuddled up next to her person in Cristina and Jackson's bed. The three kids were asleep in Jessica's room and Jackson had the night shift, leaving the women to themselves. _

"_I see Jessica has been feeling more like herself lately."_

_Cristina nodded. "The poor thing hadn't been feeling well since the New Year. I'm just glad she got over this fever. I was starting to worry, but Jackson insisted she was fine… I just…"_

_Meredith laughed. "The incredible Dr. Yang, cardiothoracic God, is, deep down, just another Mom. A mom who worries about colds, flus, scratches, cuts, fevers and everything else."_

_Cristina shook her head and laughed. "God, who have I become?"_

_Meredith smiled and rested her hand on her person's shoulder. "You're the incredible person we all knew was hiding behind that incredibly mean, bitchy, snotty, arrogant surgeon."_

_Cristina nodded, and while laughing. "I guess you're right. And I guess I deserved that."_

_Meredith nodded in agreement. "That you did."_

_Cristina hopped out of the bed, calling out "ice cream?" over her shoulder. She didn't even wait for an answer from Meredith. She knew it was pointless. Meredith never refused ice cream. _

_But when she came back with the tub and two spoons, the only thing Meredith noticed was the name of the flavor scribbled across the container. _

"_Cotton Candy? Seriously?"_

_Cristina shrugged. "A random craving."_

_Meredith laughed. "The last time you had cravings for Cotton Candy ice cream was when you were pregnant with Jessica." She suddenly stopped laughing. _

_Cristina smiled and nodded at the unasked question in Meredith's eyes. _

"_Cristina! Congratulations! This is incredible!" _

_They shared a hug, and when they pulled away, Cristina was still beaming. _

"_Jackson was thrilled when he found out. He's praying for a boy this time around."_

_Meredith shook her head and laughed. "He can't handle being outnumbered by women."_

_They both laughed. _

"_So when are you due?" Meredith asked, not able to wrap her head around the news. This was going to be an interesting few months for everyone in their lives. _

"_Beginning of September. People have already warmed me that my summer is going to hell, being that pregnant during the hottest months of the year."_

_Meredith laughed. "I'm sure I'll be able to relate. I'm due around the same time."_

_Cristina went slack-jawed and wide-eyed. _

_Meredith just laughed. "Surprise!"_

_It was Cristina's turn to wrap Meredith in her arms and wish her a congratulations. _

_After they had settled down from all the excitement, Cristina couldn't help but laugh. _

"_What is it?"_

_Cristina smiled. "I'm just thinking about all the poor souls who are going to have to deal with the both of our pregnant asses. _

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

"Izzie!"

Izzie looked over and smiled when she spotted Meredith, Cristina and Alex sitting at one of the tables in the back of the cafeteria. Cristina and Meredith looked absolutely ridiculous with their party and hats, and Alex just wore a big grin. She knew exactly what was going on.

"Guys…"

Alex pulled out a party noisemaker and the three of them burst out laughing.

"Seriously guys, you don't need to do this…" Izzie said, but she couldn't contain the smile.

"Izzie!" Meredith argued. "You passed your boards! That's a pretty big reason to celebrate."

"Plus," Cristina added, "you've got two pregnant women who would find any excuse possible to get their hands on cake."

All four of them laughed as Izzie took a seat, noticing for the first time the little cake that sat in the middle of the table.

"You may have had a rough road," Alex said, "but you've made it to the finish line with the rest of us. That's what counts. Welcome to the big leagues my dear."

**A lot of flashbacks in this one, but I hope everyone was able to follow... I know it can sometimes be confusing, but I'm going to try and make them easier to follow... It's a tough structure to write too, but I'm enjoying it and I hope you guys are too! Sorry for the lack of updates. Mono. Bleh. **

**(; **


	5. From Nerd to Neurosurgeon

**I'm sorry for being such a horrible, terribly mean person and not updating this story in FOREVER ! I could list excuses, like the fact that I had mono and a crazy semester, but that isn't what you want to hear. If there are even people still reading this... I wouldn't blame you if you just quit. But anyway, I have a few quiet days after Christmas and I'm hoping to work on the story some more. I hope you guys still enjoy! And I hope you all like my newest addition to the Seattle Grace family (: **

Meredith stared through the glass separating her from the OR as she washed up after surgery. After having looked over Julia's scans, Meredith got her interns to prep her and didn't waste any time getting her into the OR. The surgery went smoothly and Meredith was grateful, as she had made a bit of a personal attachment to this particular patient. They had chatted for quite some time and Meredith knew it wasn't always a good idea to get too personally attached, but she tended to do so sometimes anyway. Some of the people she met on a day to day basis taught her a good number of things in life. Others simply were good people who she could see herself being friends with had they have met in different circumstances.

She made her way through the halls with no real destination. She was done for the day, but knew that the kids would be napping at the daycare right now and would rather wait until they were done before bothering them. It was mid-afternoon and Richard was expecting them around 5. That would give her plenty of time to get the kids home, get all of them cleaned up a bit, and make it to Richard's with time to spare.

She checked her cell phone, secretly hoping she'd have a message from Derek, saying that he had landed in France, or to wherever he was travelling, but there was nothing. She knew she was being a little bit too hopeful, as it would be more likely that he'd be arriving later in the week. She just couldn't wait any longer.

"Grey!"

Meredith spun around and smiled when she came face to face with Dr. Samantha Mackenzie, one of their pediatric surgeons. She and Samantha had gone to med school together and Meredith had found it quite fun having her around.

"How many times do I have to tell you that –"

Samantha cut her off. "Yeah, yeah. It's Shepherd. I still have never forgiven you for stealing the most perfect man in the world though, and even less for the way I found out, so it's going to stay Grey in order for me to ignore the cold, hard truth."

Meredith just laughed. "So, what's up?"

"I need a consult. I promise, it will only take a few minutes. What do you say?"

Meredith smiled and nodded. "Anything for you my dear."

They both laughed. Not only had they been friends during med school, they had actually been roommates during their second year. The two had had ups and downs, but people knew they were tight. Most figured they would stay friends for forever, but things happened and they lost touch. That was, until the summer of 2013.

_*August 3__rd__ 2013*_

"_I can't believe you dragged me to this," Meredith said as she unbuckled Keegan from his car seat. Derek was on the other side of the jeep, doing the same with Kelsey._

_Derek laughed. "It's just a high school reunion. No big deal."_

_Meredith sighed. "I didn't even go to any of my own. What makes you think yours will be any better?"_

_Derek just winked at her before shutting the door and coming around to her side. Each of them had a kid clinging to their hand as they walked through the main doors of Derek's old high school. _

_He took a deep breath as soon as he was inside. _

"_It even smells like it used to."_

_Meredith rolled her eyes. "Seriously Derek?"_

_Derek just gave her shoulder a nudge as he led the way to the gym. _

"_I wonder if Mark is here yet… He said he was going to come straight here from the airport."_

_Meredith shrugged as she looked around the crowded room. "I don't know if you'll ever find him in here. What are there? A thousand people here?"_

_Derek looked around. "Well my graduating class was of about 500. Usually about half of those people show up. If you add in families…" _

"_Yeah, like I said. A thousand people." Meredith sighed again. "I wish Lexie was here…"_

"_Me too." _

_They turned around at the sound of the familiar voice, only to come face to face with Mark, Carolyn and Celia._

"_You guys made it!" Derek exclaimed._

_Mark smiled. "We did! Mom was gracious enough to pick us up. We had a problem with the rental. Thank God for Mom!"_

_Carolyn laughed. "It was no issue. None at all."_

_Meredith was about to ask about Lexie, as she hadn't seen her 7 and a half month pregnant sister in almost a month but she didn't get the chance. _

"_Derek! Mark! God you guys got old! And Ms. Shepherd, always a pleasure!" _

_Derek and Mark exchanged embraces with a man Meredith guessed they had gone to school with. _

"_This is my wife Meredith," Derek introduced. "And my kids Kelsey and Keegan." He turned to Meredith. "Mer, this is Patrick and…"_

_Patrick smiled. "My wife Charlotte and my daughter Heidi. And Mark! You've got one too! Where'd you steal her from?"_

_Mark made a sarcastic laughing sound as everyone else giggled. "Actually Pat, if you must know, this is my daughter Celia. My wife couldn't make it because she's actually 7 and a half months pregnant and didn't want to risk flying."_

_Patrick winked. "You stick to that story, I'm sure people will believe it."_

_Everyone cracked up again. _

_Patrick gave Mark a pat on the back. "I'm just pulling your leg. I'm sure she exists."_

_Derek nodded. "She does, I promise. She's Meredith's sister and everything that Mark tells you is very much the truth."_

_Patrick nodded. "Well we're going to continue on, but I'm sure we'll see you guys around. And Derek? You really didn't turn out so bad after all," he finished with a wink._

_It was Derek's turn to pout. "Thanks for NOT bringing it up Pat."_

"_Anytime!" he called out over his shoulder. _

_Carolyn and Mark chuckled. _

"_I take it this has to do with the three years of his life that Derek just happens to have no pictures of?" Meredith asked. _

"_You mean to tell me that you've never seen a picture of Derek from high school?" Mark asked, completely shocked. _

_Meredith shook her head. "Other than his graduation picture, but I know it's been touched up."_

_Derek was scandalized. "How did you –"_

_Carolyn laughed. "Oh hunny, she's your wife. I couldn't not tell her your dirty little secret."_

_Mark laughed. "They have got to have our yearbooks kicking around here somewhere…"_

_Mark went off in search of some yearbooks, filled with what Meredith assumed were some pretty rough pictures of Derek. He stopped and chatted with every second person as he went. _

"_Derek, there's Riley and Barb. We should probably go over and say a quick hello."_

_Derek nodded. "Sounds like a good idea." He turned to Meredith. "Meredith? You coming?"_

_She had kind of been in a daze and was brought back to reality at the sound of her name. _

"_Oh. Umm… I think I'm going to go grab something to drink," she said as she pointed to the snack table in one of the corners. "I'll find you later."_

_Derek looked hesitant. "Are you sure?" _

_Meredith smiled. "Derek, don't worry about me. You go see people. I'll be fine."_

_Derek smiled back. "Okay."_

_The kids were now hanging off of their grandmother and Meredith smiled as she watched them chat enthusiastically with the older woman as they made their way across the gym. _

_Meredith did as she had said she would and headed towards the punch bowl. She nearly spit up her drink when her eye landed on someone she knew._

"_Samantha Mackenzie?"_

_Samantha turned around at the sound of her name, but was not expecting the woman at all. _

"_Meredith Grey? What in the hell are you doing here?"_

_It didn't take her a minute to wrap the petite blonde in her arms. Samantha was much taller than her and had always been. Her long red hair floated half way down her back and her blue summer dress made her legs look even longer than they were. All in all, Samantha Mackenzie was as well put together as she had been back when they were in college. _

"_My husband graduated from here. What are you doing here?"_

_Samantha smiled. "This was my stomping grounds. Or at least, it was for the last three years of school."_

_Meredith shook her head. "I didn't know you lived in New York! You only ever talked about North-Carolina!"_

_Samantha shrugged. "New York wasn't really all that exciting."_

_Meredith rolled her eyes. "Yeah right. I hardly doubt anything in Samantha Mackenzie's life wasn't exciting." _

_She laughed. _

_Samantha looked Meredith over and smiled. "God, I can't believe it! It's been way too long sweetie. Why did we ever lose touch? You were the best thing that happened to my in college and then, we just didn't talk. What the hell?"_

_Meredith sighed. "Med school, internships… They didn't leave much time for anything else. Then by the time we got our lives back, a few pieces and people were forgotten." She paused, then a thought hit her. "You did still follow the dream of becoming a surgeon, right?"_

_Samantha rolled her eyes. "Please. That's all I ever talked about. Could you imagine what would have happened had I not gone all the way with it? My folks would have killed me, with all the money they shoveled out on my education."_

_Meredith gave her a look. "Was that a yes?"_

_Samantha laughed and was about to say something, but her attention was caught by a sight she was not expecting whatsoever. _

"_Holy shit. If it isn't Derek Shepherd." Samantha pointed towards Derek, who was talking to a few other men, laughing and clearly enjoying himself. "See the man with the black, going a bit gray, colored hair, the blue shinny eyes and the absolutely drop dead gorgeous smile?"_

_Meredith pretended to search, and kept the smile that was building on her lips as concealed as possible. "The one with the blue dress shirt?"_

_Samantha nodded, while keeping her focus on Derek. "He was the kid that most everyone pitied. A sweetheart, and he was friends with everyone, but he wasn't the greatest thing to look at. He had a mass of pimples, braces and dorky little glasses. He was so short too. Sprouted during his 12__th__ year, but he must have only lost the accessories after graduating because he still had them the last time I saw him. And that was the day of graduation." _

_Meredith couldn't help but crack a smile at the thought of Derek with glasses and braces. She suddenly couldn't wait to get a hand on those pictures Mark had went looking for. _

"_And now, dorky little Derek is a big hunky hot-shot neurosurgeon. Who would've thunk it?" Samantha chuckled. "The poor kid asked me to the winter formal in the 10__th__ grade and I turned him down. But had he have looked like that back then," she said, pointing at him with no shyness whatsoever, "I probably would have answered much differently."_

_Meredith shook her head. "A guy that fine couldn't have been all that bad in high school," she argued, trying to stand up for her husband._

_Samantha laughed. "You'd be amazed. Like I said, great guy and all. We were lab partners in the 11__th__ grade. He was the only person who knew I was actually smart. Most of my friends just thought I was no brains, all beauty. Weren't they shocked when I was awarded prizes and recognitions at graduation." _

_Both women just kept their eyes locked on Derek, who was now out in the middle of the gym dancing with Kelsey. _

"_A cute kid too," Samantha said when the little blonde toddler started giggling at her father's antics. "I'm sure the vast majority of the people here never expected him to turn out the way he has. And with a perfect little family to top it all off. His baby momma is one lucky woman."_

_At that very moment, Derek's gaze just happened to land on the tall redhead. He smiled and waved in her direction, and then leaned down to pick up Kelsey. _

_Samantha met him halfway. _

"_Derek freaking Shepherd! Looking good I must say!"_

_Derek laughed as he set Kelsey back down in order to give Samantha a hug. _

_Kelsey quickly spotted her grandmother not too far away and made a break for it. Derek watched her closely until she found her grandmother and brother, then turned his attention back to Samantha. _

"_You're as stunning as ever! Can't say I expected anything less."_

_Samantha laughed, then suddenly remembered that she had left Meredith behind. _

"_Oh! I want you to meet a friend of mine."_

_Derek expected Samantha to lead him towards a boyfriend or something, and couldn't help but smile when Meredith came into view. Before he had a chance to say a thing, Samantha introduced him. _

"_This is my friend Meredith Grey. We went to med school together. I told you I'd get in! Meredith here is my witness."_

_Meredith nodded. "I even saw her graduate with my own two eyes."_

_Derek smirked. He then decided he'd enjoy playing the stranger for a little while. "Meredith Grey… Any relation to the ever famous Ellis Grey?"_

_Meredith knew exactly what Derek was doing. _

"_Actually…"_

_Samantha cut her off. "Meredith is Ellis Grey's daughter. Followed in her mother's footsteps." She turned back to Meredith. "Did you end up going into surgery?"_

_Meredith nodded. "Yes, I did. Neurosurgery actually." She looked back at Derek. "Which makes me very familiar with your work."_

_Derek smiled as he put out his hand. "Dr. Derek Shepherd," he introduced himself. "But you seem to know that already."_

_Meredith shook his hand, and couldn't help but feel silly. However, it was kind of fun, and Samantha, although noting the chemistry between the two, still seemed oblivious._

"_So what has the great Derek Shepherd been up to these days, other than saving lives and smiling for the covers of medical magazines?"_

_Derek laughed. "If you must know, I've got the cutest little twins anyone could ever meet. They're 2 and a half. Kelsey and Keegan." He pointed towards his mother, who was helping the kids settle down at one of the many tables set up around the room. _

_Samantha looked over towards them. "They're just precious!" she exclaimed. "Their mother must be gorgeous."_

_Derek nodded. "Oh, she is. Stunning, in fact."_

_Samantha, always one for gossip, couldn't stop there. "Are we going to meet this mystery woman? Is she here?"_

_Derek couldn't help but laugh. "Oh, well… Let's just say our situation is a little bit… particular."_

_Samantha didn't really understand, but noticed the eyes Derek was giving Meredith. _

_Derek changed the subject. "Why don't I introduce you to the kids?"_

_Samantha nodded, and Derek led them through the crowd. However, she stayed back a little ways, and once she knew they were out of earshot, she turned towards Meredith. _

"_Oh my God!" she squealed. "He was totally flirting with you. Did you see the way he's been looking at you since the moment I introduced you? And when he said the situation with his kids' mom was "particular", he gave you eyes. As if saying, she's not important or not in the picture and that he'd totally like to give you a whirl." _

_Meredith blushed and laughed at the same time. "All that from a few looks? Gee Sam, you've still got that wild imagination I see!" _

_They had finally reached the table where Carolyn was settling the kids, and Derek started right up with introductions. _

"_Mom, you remember –"_

_She cut him off with a smile. "Samantha Mackenzie. Of course I do!" She gave the younger woman a hug. "She's the only girl that Mark kept around for more than a week. Hard to forget."_

_Derek and Samantha laughed. "We all couldn't get over it," Derek said, remembering the days. "Mark staying with a girl for four months. What ever happened?"_

_Samantha thought about it, then shrugged. "I honestly don't really remember."_

_Samantha suddenly remembered Meredith. She turned towards her friend. "Mark Sloan was Derek's best friend. He pretty much lived with the Shepherd family. He was a cocky, full of himself, man whore. But a funny and great guy overall."_

_While Samantha gave Meredith the explanation of Mark Sloan, Carolyn gave Derek a confused look._

"_He sounds like quite the interesting guy," Meredith said while Samantha continued to describe Mark._

_Derek just winked to his mother before turning towards Meredith. _

"_Meredith, this is my mother Carolyn Shepherd. Mom, this is Meredith Grey, one of Sam's friend's from med school."_

_Carolyn saw the twinkle in Derek's eye and figured that meant she was expected to play along. "It's nice to meet you," she said, bringing her daughter-in-law in for a hug. "What brings you to this shindig?"_

_Meredith smirked. "My husband graduated from here." _

_Samantha had completely forgotten that she had kind of captured Meredith and her cheeks grew red when she realized what she had told Meredith, about Derek wanting her and what not, and having totally forgotten that she was married and here with her family. _

"_Meredith! I'm so sorry!" she quickly apologized. "I totally forgot where we were and what you were doing here." She leaned in closer. "And about what I said earlier…"_

_Meredith shooed her away. "No, no, it's not an issue. I really enjoyed catching up, and meeting you Dr. Shepherd was an honor. I should probably get back to my family though…"_

_Derek, Meredith and Carolyn exchanged looks, wondering how they could put an end to this charade, in the best way possible. _

_They weren't, however, given the time to figure something out. Kelsey did it for them. _

"_Mommy, mommy!" she exclaimed, hoping from her seat and hoping up and down in front of Meredith. "I'm hungry!" _

_Meredith picked up her daughter and kissed her forehead. "Daddy will go get you and Keegan something to eat very soon, okay?"_

_Kelsey nodded and buried her head in her mother's shoulder._

_Meredith turned back towards the adults. Derek and Carolyn were watching as Samantha's expression morphed from confused, to shocked, to disbelief._

"_Seriously?" She exclaimed, finally realizing what just happened. "What the hell just happened?"_

_The three adults couldn't help but crack up. _

_Meredith was the first to speak. "My married name is Meredith Shepherd, I have two children, twins, named Kelsey and Keegan, I'm an attending at Seattle Grace Mercy West hospital in Seattle, where my husband, Derek Shepherd, is the chief of surgery, and your expression is just priceless right now." _

_It took Samantha a few moments to recover from all the information she had just been given. When she finally spoke, she was incredulous. "You mean to tell me that for the past fifteen minutes, you guys… I can't believe it! All of you! It's like you can read each other's minds! How… You just played along, even you Carolyn and all along… You two know each other?"_

_Derek chuckled. "Quite well actually. Very, very well."_

_Derek gave her a tap on the shoulder, before turning towards the food table to find something the kids could snack on._

_Samantha turned back towards Meredith._

"_I could strangle you right now."_

_Meredith laughed. "Not in front of the kids please. You wouldn't want them to see their, what was it? 'gorgeous baby momma' get hurt now, would you?"_

_Samantha was so red. Carolyn took Kelsey from Meredith's arms in order to let Meredith reassure her friend._

"_Oh Sammy," Meredith said. "You weren't all that off when you picked up on Derek's flirtatiousness. I have to give you credit for that one. And if it helps any, you're not the first one we've done this too. Well, it's usually Derek who pulls these kinds of stunts on people, but I have to admit, I understand why he does it now. It's actually quite amusing."_

_Samantha shook her head. "I can't believe it. You're married to Derek Shepherd. THE Derek Shepherd. And rather than brag about it, or tell me how glorious it was, you pretended like you didn't even know the man. Seriously Mer, there's something wrong with you."_

_Meredith just shook her head and laughed. "Oh no, this girl just knows how to have fun."_

_Carolyn laughed with her as Samantha continued to shake her head. _

_Just then, Mark Sloan and little Celia joined the group now standing around the table. _

"_Samantha Mackenzie?"_

_Samantha turned her attention towards Mark, glad for the distraction. "Mark!" She gave him a quick hug, all while being careful of the little girl in his arms. _

"_And who's this little princess?"_

_Mark beamed, as Meredith and Carolyn was sure he did every time one of his past classmates asked about his daughter. "This is my little girl, Celia."_

_Samantha shook her head with a smile. "Mark has a kid. Settled down?"_

_Mark smiled again. "Yup. Married with another one on the way."_

_Samantha couldn't help but smile even brighter. "Congratulations Mark."_

_Samantha turned towards Meredith, and was about to introduce her, but she knew better now. _

"_I was going to introduce you to my friend Meredith, but I've learnt my lesson." _

_Mark gave Samantha a questioning look, but before she had a chance to explain, Meredith laughed. _

"_I know Mark quite well. He and Derek are pretty much still the brothers everyone seems to remember them as and he's actually married to my little sister."_

_Mark still didn't quite understand why Samantha seemed so distraught. "What did I miss?"_

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

It was a year later when Samantha Mackenzie had found the opening at Seattle Grace Mercy West hospital. She was looking for something new, and Georgia, although she had enjoyed her stay there, just wasn't cutting it anymore. Her best friend there had moved on to bigger and better, and the guy she had been dating wasn't very serious and she knew the relationship was going nowhere. Knowing that she already knew people in Seattle, and that those people were all at Seattle Grace, she decided to hop on the opportunity.

*_September 2__nd__ 2014* _

"_Hi," Samantha introduced herself. "I'm Dr. Samantha Mackenzie."_

_Arizona smiled. "I'm Dr. Arizona Robins. Please, take a seat."_

_Samantha did as she was asked. _

"_So, what brings you to Seattle Grace Mercy West hospital?"_

_Samantha smiled. This was the question everyone seemed to start with in their interviews._

"_I saw the job opening and was immediately interested. I've spent most of my career hopping from hospital to hospital, having no ties to any of the communities where I've worked. My parents both passed away and I have no real family or friends that I hold dearly. That's why moving around was so easy for me."_

_This threw up some red flags, because the position they wanted to fill was a permanent position, and they wanted someone who would stick. _

"_I've been looking to settle down for the last little while, but never found the right spot. I needed somewhere where I knew I had someone, someone who would stick around. Just last year, I connected with an old friend of mine, a very good friend from med school, and a few friends from high school. We've stayed in contact all year, and as they all have families and are settled, here in Seattle, I realized that they would be the friends that I knew I could count on." Samantha laughed. "I'm sure this isn't quite the story you were looking for, but it's the truth."_

_Arizona nodded as she took some notes. _

"_They encouraged me to apply, so I know that they support me and I feel that they'll be the ones that tie me down."_

_They continued with the interview, and Arizona was very pleased with how it went. She was definitely the best candidate for the job, but she was a bit nervous about hiring her, because of the fact that she didn't seem to settle down. _

_She figured she'd bring her options to Derek to further discuss them. _

"_Come in!" _

_Arizona took a seat at Derek's desk, setting her evaluations of the candidates on her desk. _

"_How'd the interviews go?"_

_Arizona smiled. "Pretty good actually. A few good candidates. Only one really great one though, which should make it easier to decide."_

_Derek nodded. "So…? Does that mean we've got an offer to make?"_

_Arizona sighed. "I want to say yes, but I'm still hesitant. That's why I wanted to speak to you. The candidate, the one I want to offer the job to, she told me straight out that she doesn't tend to stay in one place very long. She's had multiple experiences, and a lot of really amazing ones, but has never had ties to keep her in one spot. She tells me that she has ties here, three good friends that will keep her grounded, but I really don't want to have to hire someone new in a couple of years if her friends here fall through or aren't reliable. Or if they get up and leave, than she might decide to leave too. You know what I mean?"_

_Derek smiled, and nodded. "I know exactly what you mean. But…" he pointed towards glass window where she saw Samantha walking with Meredith, catching up, "if that's the doctor you want to hire, I can personally guarantee that her ties to the community are reliable and aren't going anywhere soon."_

_Arizona smiled when she saw what Derek was pointing out. "Meredith must be either her friend from med school or one of the ones from high school."_

_Derek nodded. "She's the one from med school. Mark and I are the friends from high school."_

_Arizona shook her head and smiled. "She's lucky to have such great ties. It just made my decision that much easier." She paused. "How did you know?"_

_He pointed towards the stack of documents that Arizona had placed on his desk. "She's the top of the pile. It was a lucky guess. Plus, your description fit her. She's got reliable friends, I promise. Do you think you're ready to make your decision?" _

_Arizona smiled. "Want to bring her in to sign the contract?"_

And that's what Samantha Mackenzie had done. She was so glad, and even just half a year later, she knew she had made the best decision in her life.

"You know, Arizona was telling me the other day that my ties to you guys was what confirmed her decision to hire me."

Meredith laughed. "So, does that finally make up for the way we screwed with you at the high school reunion?"

Samantha thought about it and laughed. "I guess so. I'm really glad I took the job."

Meredith smiled. "We are too. It's been great to have you around again. It's crazy how people reconnect."

They had no idea just how crazy it truly was.


	6. Due Dates and I Do's

"Steph! Over here!"

Stephanie looked up from where she was sitting, doing her homework. She had become used to working in the busy cafeteria at Seattle Grace hospital, and actually would rather do her studies here than at home. Her mother had told her at the beginning of the year that she was now old enough to stay at home after school if she would like. She had kind of gotten used to going home on the bus last year, with her mom being at home on maternity leave with Emily, her baby sister, but after only a few days of going home to the quiet house in September, she had decided she preferred the noisy cafeteria over the silence of the new house. When her mom and Finn had found out they were having a baby, they had decided it was well time they moved in together. Neither one of them was really interested in getting remarried, at least not right away, but they knew that they were it for each other. Just this Christmas, they had finally decided to make a quick trip to city hall and make their relationship official, just a few days after Emily's first birthday. Stephanie smiled at the thought, because, although she was only 11 years old, she was very intelligent, and she could tell that her mom was truly in love when it came to Finn. She loved Finn too, and was glad that they had found each other.

She shook herself from her thoughts, and looked over towards where the voice had come from. She smiled. Another reason she liked coming to the cafeteria instead of going home was because there was always someone around to keep her company. Between the doctors, the nurses, the patients and the wandering kids of all of those above, she never had a dull moment. She had also signed up for a volunteer program with her school, where her and a few other of the junior high kids would come and spend time with some of the long term patients in the hospital. She sometimes visited the patients she had met that weekend during the week, and pretty much all of them were grateful for the distraction. She had decided that when she grew up, she wanted to work in the hospital setting. She just wasn't sure in what field.

Her smile grew bigger when her best friend Kayla took a seat at her table. They had been best friends since Kayla had moved to Seattle, which wasn't all that long after Steph herself had arrived. Knowing both what it was like to have a parent working at the hospital, they had mostly bonded over that. It had also helped that they had had Derek to bring them together. Although they had a year and a half age difference, Stephanie seemed much older and Kayla never seemed to care.

"I feel like I never see you anymore!"

Stephanie sighed. They had been in the same class ever since Kayla had arrived, but when they started the seventh grade, they were split up. The classes were different, and other than at lunch, they barely saw each other.

"I know. I didn't even see you at lunch today!"

Kayla pointed to her arm, where she had a small bandage. "The four of us have been at the hospital all day. Alyssa has been really sick for the past few weeks, and they discovered there was a problem with her blood. They have her on medications and they say that she's going to be fine, but they wanted to make sure that Danny, Josh and I are okay."

Stephanie went wide eyed. "Are you?"

Kayla shrugged. "We won't have the results until later on in the week, but I feel fine. Mom was going out of her mind with worry, and dad has been trying to calm her down, but it isn't doing much good. I think she's doing better now that the doctors have figured out what it is and are treating Aly."

"That's good to know." Stephanie had spent a lot of time these past few years at the Corrigan house. Amy and Catherine were very good friends, just like their daughters, and Finn and Julian had become quick companions. The girls would often have sleep overs and play dates, and the parents knew that they could count on each other if ever they needed something. This also resulted in Steph becoming close to the other Corrigan kids. "So is Alyssa still in the hospital?"

Kayla nodded. "Yeah. I should probably head up there soon. Dad's there with Danny and Josh. You want to come?"

Stephanie quickly put her books away, and headed towards her friend's room. In reality, when it came to age difference, she was between the two girls anyway. This put her in a peculiar position, especially now that they were older and age difference was less and less important. She had become closer and closer to Alyssa this past year. However, Kayla would always be her best friend.

They weren't shocked to find Amy in Alyssa's hospital room. They were however surprised that the boys were gone, and that Catherine was there instead.

"Where's dad?" Kayla asked as she took a seat on her sister's bed.

Amy smiled at her daughter. "They went home. The boys were getting restless and needed to eat. Alyssa's going be here for the night, so I'm going to stay. Whenever you're ready to leave, I'll bring you home and come straight back. Your dad couldn't find you when he left, so I told him I'd take care of getting you home."

Catherine cut in. "I can take her home Amy. Heck, I can keep her for supper, even for the night if that makes it easier on you guys."

Kayla and Stephanie exchanged excited looks.

Amy smiled. "I take it by the looks on their faces that I would be a terrible mom if I said no after that," she said, looking at Kayla. She looked back up and Catherine. "Thanks, I really and truly appreciate it."

Catherine waved her off. "It's not like you've never done it for me."

Amy grabbed her daughter's back pack from Alyssa's bedside. "We packed each of the kids a bag in case they needed to spend a night in the hospital. She's got everything in there."

Kayla rolled her eyes as she took the bag. "Mom, I can handle my own bag. I'm not five."

Amy laughed. "That, you are not. Don't stay up too late tonight girls. It's a school night!"

Catherine laughed as they watched the girls walk out of the room, chatting excitedly. She turned back towards Amy. "You take good care of that one," she said, smiling towards Alyssa, who had fallen asleep.

"I will."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

"Hi Sir, can I help you?"

The man in the hoody looked around the room, as if searching for someone. The nurse watched the man's eyes wander, searching, avoiding her gaze completely. She could see the scars on his face, but knew they were scars from ages ago. He didn't seem in pain, just plain lost.

"Sir?"

The man's eyes finally landed on hers and he nodded slowly.

"I'm looking for Dr. Teddy Altman." He looked down. "I was told she was a doctor here."

The nurses nodded. "She is. Can you just give me one second?"

The man nodded, looking once again around the nurse's station. The nurse found his behaviour odd, but didn't ask any questions.

She looked through the scheduled surgeries, and followed up with a search of Dr. Altman's current patients. Neither one could tell her specifically where the doctor was.

"She's not in surgery, nor with a patient at the moment. I can page her if it's a medical emergency."

The man shook his head. "No, that's okay."

The nurse nodded slowly. "Would you like to leave me your name and number, and if I spot her, I can ask her to contact you?"

The man shook his head frantically. "No, no. I'll… I'll find her eventually."

The nurse gave him a skeptical look, but he just turned around and headed back to where he had come in.

_That was weird,_ she thought. However, she shook it off and got back to work.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Samantha was all smiles when she made her way into the cafeteria. It was getting close to supper time and she hadn't had lunch or breakfast. She was famished. However, even hunger couldn't erase the grin from her face.

"What's got you in such a good mood?"

She turned and came face to face with Addison, the woman she had to thank for her current state of bliss.

"Oh nothing…"

Addie laughed. "It's Mike, isn't it?"

Samantha just smiled even brighter at the mention of her boyfriend's name.

Addie just laughed even harder. "Oh dear Samantha," she said as she wrapped an arm around her friend's shoulder. "You're just too easy."

Addison and Samantha had become quick friends when the newest addition to the Seattle Grace family had moved to the city. As Samantha was spending a lot of time with Derek, Meredith and Mark, she and Addison had quickly gotten to know each other. It was early in their relationship that Addison had introduced Samantha to the first man she had ever truly loved.

_*October 6__th__ 2014*_

"_I'm glad that's over."_

_Samantha nodded in agreement at Addison's statement. They had had a touch and go surgery on a 6 month baby that had been the victim of a car crash and neither one of them wanted to imagine having to tell the parents that their son hadn't made it through. Luckily, they wouldn't have to. _

_After they had delivered the news to the parents of their son's successful surgery, they both made their way towards the attending's lounge. _

"_Any exciting plans tonight?" Addie asked, knowing that her fellow doctor was now off the clock. _

_Samantha shrugged. "Mark mentioned drinks at Joe's. Celia's spending the night with Kelsey at Meredith and Derek's and Lexie is at Molly's with Tommy." She laughed. "God, everyone around me has kids to keep track of and suddenly, I can keep tabs on them all too."_

_Addison laughed. "Well it just so happens that Mark invited Sam and I along too, and Nate is at his grandmother's tonight so we accepted."_

_Samantha smirked. "More kids to keep track of. Too many kids I tell you!" _

_The women went their separate ways to get changed, but before long, they were both seated at the same booth at Joe's. _

_Addison watched as Mark and Sam made their way to the pool table. "God, it's been a while since we've been out like this."_

_Samantha laughed. "That's what happens when you have kids."_

_Addie nodded. "But it's so worth it." She hesitated, but as her judgement had started getting cloudy after a few drinks, she preceded. "You thinking about having kids?"_

_Samantha chuckled into her drink. "I'd like to find a man first, then I'll think about it."_

_Addison nodded in agreement. "Good plan." Then her eyes lit up. "Oh! I totally have a man for you!"_

_Samantha shook her head. "Addison, you are not playing matchmaker. I can find someone on my own."_

_Addison pouted. "But I really do have someone for you… He's really great, an absolute sweetheart, has never been married and I have easy access to him."_

_Although Samantha wanted to refuse, she was curious. "Is it someone from the hospital?"_

_Addison scoffed. "Please. People do enough hooking up in that place on their own. No need for matchmaking in that love trap." She took another sip of her drink before continuing. "I was actually thinking of Mike, my brother in law."_

_She had heard that name before. Mike Harrington…_

"_He's the one who owns the Inn, right?"_

_Addison nodded. "Yup."_

_Meredith had told her the story of how she and Derek had officially ended up married. She talked about the weekend spent at the Inn, and Samantha had seen it for herself when she had gone to visit Mark and Lexie one afternoon during her first week in Seattle. She had seen Mike from a distance, and only the back of his head, so she didn't even know what he looked like. _

_But Addie didn't seem to care. _

"_Hey Mike!"_

_Samantha was shaken from her thoughts at the sound of Addison's greeting. Phone pressed against her ear, Addison smirked in Samantha's direction. _

"_So, Sam and Mark and a new friend from work and I are hanging out at Joe's. I remember you mentioning earlier that you had the night off tonight and I thought maybe you'd like to join us? Really? Well I caught you just in time then! Okay then, see you soon!"_

_Samantha watched as Addie hung up and smiled. "He was on his way to come visit us at the apartment, and once he would have gotten there, he would have called to see where we were at. It's just fate I tell you!" _

_Samantha didn't know if she'd call it fate, maybe a coincidence or something, but she let Addison have her moment. _

"_You're something," Samantha grumbled light heartedly as she took a swig of her drink. _

_By the time Mike had walked through the door, Samantha had relaxed but still wasn't all that sure what to expect. However, after giving the man a once over, she turned back towards Addie. _

"_Wow," she mouthed. Addie laughed slightly as Mike reached them. _

"_Addie! It feels like it's been forever!" _

_Addie smiled as she accepted Mike's embrace. When they pulled back, she smirked. _

"_It was yesterday. You had Nate all day."_

_Mike laughed. "I know. I was just pulling your leg."_

_Addison rolled her eyes, but quickly turned her attention to Samantha. _

"_Mike, I'd like you to meet the newest addition to the Seattle Grace family. Samantha Mackenzie, Mike Harrington." _

_Mike turned towards Samantha and couldn't help but smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you," he said as he took her hand in his. From that first touch, Mike could feel something spark. He didn't know what it was, but there was just something about the woman in front of him that felt special. _

"_It's a pleasure to meet you too," Samantha said, suddenly shy under his gaze. Samantha Mackenzie never got shy, especially not in front of a guy, so she didn't know how to react._

_Addie, with a smile, cut in. "Samantha just moved here from Georgia. She hasn't gotten the chance to meet very many people outside of the hospital yet. Thought I'd introduce her to a few outsiders."_

_Mike nodded and smiled. "Georgia, huh? What possessed you to move to Seattle?"_

_Samantha laughed. "A few friends encouraged me when there was a job opening in pediatrics. I'm a surgeon."_

_Mike laughed. "Why doesn't that surprise me?"_

_They both laughed, neither one having noticed Addie leaving to join the boys at the pool table. _

"_Addie!" Mark exclaimed. "Wanna join in?"_

_Addie shook her head. "Nah, I'll just watch."_

_It was a few moments later that Mark noticed that she was alone. "Where'd Samantha go?"_

_Addison smirked. "There's a guy at the bar hitting on her. Thought I'd leave him to it."_

_Immediately, both men paused their game to check out the man. _

"_Mike?" Sam said, shocked._

_Addison laughed. "Mike."_

_Mark shook his head slowly. "God be damned."_

Samantha smiled, as she began explaining the source of her delight. "He's taking me on a mini getaway tonight. I have the day off tomorrow, and he wants to do something special for our six months together. I know, it sounds kind of cheesy, but I don't care right now. I'm just too happy."

Addison laughed. "I hope you have a good time!"

Samantha smiled. "Thanks! And I will!" With that, she said a quick bye and headed into the cafeteria.

Addie smiled and shook her head as she thought about just how good of a time it would be. Samantha had no idea what was awaiting her.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Izzie, after a long, but absolutely amazing day, made her way towards the lobby. She had passed her boards. She had passed her boards and now she was a fellow. She had decided on neo-natal as her specialty, and had been very lucky to have all the support she had gotten, especially from Addison. The two had spent the day working side by side, and Izzie couldn't have asked for better mentors in this process. Between Addison and Miranda, who had been her guide throughout, she had successfully made it to where she wanted to be.

She smiled when she made it to the lobby and immediately spotted her two boys. Seeing Dustin asleep in Alex's arms reminded Izzie of just how lucky she truly was. Alex Karev. She had married Alex Karev. She still laughed at the thought and couldn't believe the man he had turned out to be, the father he had turned out to be.

"What's so funny?" Alex asked, when she reached them.

"I was just thinking about how crazy it is that I married you."

Alex have her a questioning look.

Izzie rolled her eyes. "Alex, you didn't really come off as this kind of guy when we first met. I was just thinking about how much you have changed, and how crazy of a transformation it truly was."

Alex nodded, understanding where she was coming from. "You changed me."

Izzie took his hand in hers and they started making their way to their car.

The drive home was filled with light conversation of the day's happenings. Once home, Dustin was still asleep in the backseat, so Izzie decided she'd let him sleep until supper. She brought the boy up to his room, then headed back downstairs. She joined Alex outside on the porch facing the water.

They were both quiet for a few moments, but it didn't last very long.

"I have been thinking…" Alex started off. He paused, not sure how he wanted to broach this. "You know how we ended up getting married, because you were dying and because we didn't know if you'd make it? I was thinking about how it's a shame we didn't get married because that's what we wanted to do."

Izzie seemed confused. "Are you saying you didn't want to marry me?"

Alex shook his head quickly and let out a little laugh. "No, of course not. I wouldn't have married you if I hadn't wanted to." He took a breath. "What I'm saying is that the circumstances at the time we got married are what brought us to get married rather than out of pure love and devotion."

Izzie nodded slowly. "I think I understand what you mean. Like, we wouldn't have gotten married that day if I hadn't have been dying of cancer. You would have gone the more traditional way, a proposal, wedding planning and so on, had we have been given the time."

Alex nodded. "Exactly."

There was another short silence, but Alex didn't let it go on very long. "What do you think about renewing our vows?"

Izzie was surprised. Less than an hour ago, she was reflecting on the old Alex, and now the man in question was talking about renewing their wedding vows. He was definitely transformed, and Izzie couldn't help but feel all gushy inside.

"Alex… I think that's an amazing idea."

Alex seemed very pleased, but still wanted to make sure she truly thought it was a good idea. "Really? It's not too –"

Izzie cut him off. "It's exactly what we need. A celebration on our own terms."

Alex nodded, thinking that that was exactly what he was hoping it would be. "I'm glad you like the idea." He paused, but continued. "There's something else I wanted to do, that I never got the chance to do."

He bent down, got on one knee and pulled a little box from the pocket of his jeans.

"I never had the chance to propose before we got married. I had never really thought about ever doing it either, not until one day, after you started working at the hospital again, we were scrubbing out of a surgery with Addison and she had slid two rings back on, whereas you only had the one. I want to be able to give you everything a girl ever dreams of." He popped open the lid of the little box. "Isobel Stevens, will you do me the honor of continuing to be your husband for the rest of our lives?

Izzie laughed through the small tears that had collected in her eyes, and nodded. "Yes, yes of course I will!"

Alex smiled as he got back up and slid the ring on her finger, where her wedding band already sat.

"Thank you Alex, for making my little girl dreams come true."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

The attending's lounge was buzzing with energy when Amy entered. Alyssa had fallen asleep, so Amy thought it safe to leave for a few minutes to clear her mind. She was also going to take this opportunity to grab something to eat for when Alyssa woke up and was hungry for supper.

She looked around the room and noticed that most people seemed to be getting off work. Some were collecting bags, others were grabbing their street clothes and heading to get changed.

"Amy!" Lexie exclaimed. "You got here just at the right moment. We're placing bets on who's going to pop first, Meredith or Cristina."

Cristina rolled her eyes. "It's not a competition. This betting thing is silly."

Amy couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Ha! Says the woman who started the betting pool when it was Lexie and me."

Cristina couldn't help but laugh. "True. But it ended up being a total bust might I remind you. No one was betting on the two of you giving birth the same day. Your due dates were like three weeks difference. It wasn't fair."

"Okay, so let's start with due dates. Who's due first?" Amy asked Cristina.

She thought about it. "I actually don't know when Meredith's due date is, but mine's September 3rd."

Lexie spit out the mouthful of water she had just gulped down. "Shut up! Meredith's due date is September 3rd!"

Addison just watched and laughed, having already been in the know when it came to the great coincidence. She had, after all, been the one to inform both women of their due dates.

"So now we just need to know who has more chance of going into early labor," Amy concluded. She turned towards Addison. "Addie?"

Addison shook her head and laughed. "I'm not at liberty to reveal any of my patients' information. So as I have an unfair advantage, you can count me out!"

Everyone laughed, and the topic was turned back to Amy and Lexie.

"What a day that had been," Amy said, remembering the atmosphere in the hospital. Two of their own were giving birth.

"Tell me about it," Addison exclaimed.

_*July 8__th__ 2011*_

"_Mark!" Derek exclaimed. "Where is she?"_

"_She's with Mom, down at the cafeteria. They went for a little walk, trying to keep everything flowing or whatever. I may be a surgeon, but this whole labor thing has never been my strong suit."_

_Derek nodded and thanked Mark as he made his way quickly down to the cafeteria. _

_It didn't take him very long to pick out the back of his mother's head. He made his way over to where the two sat, a smile on his face, and he took a seat with the two women. _

"_This is it," Derek said with a great big smile. _

"_This is it," Amy agreed._

_Derek had been at home with the kids when Mark had called. He and Amy had been in surgery when the contractions had started. No one had seen it coming, as Amy wasn't due for another three weeks and had never gone into early labor. Everyone had expected Lexie to be first, as she was due any day, and luckily, because of that, Carolyn was already in Seattle for the birth of Lexie and Mark's little girl. _

_As soon as he had gotten to the hospital, he had dropped the kids off at the daycare and immediately ran into Mark. Now, he was sitting at his baby sister's side, exactly where he should be. Especially given the circumstances. _

"_Have you been able to reach Julian yet?"_

_Amy shook her head. "He's not answering his cell phone, and he's not at the office. The receptionist said she'd try to get a hold of him, and that if he came back to the office, she'd send him straight to the hospital."_

_Derek nodded. "Okay. In the meantime, you've got me and mom, so we're going to have to do, alright?"_

_Amy laughed. "Thanks."_

_Derek smiled. "Anytime. So, where are the kids at?"_

"_Danny's at the daycare, and Kayla and Alyssa are at school. Catherine is going to pick them up when she gets off in an hour as she was picking Stephanie up anyway. She told me she could pick them up right away, but why pull them out of school right away when nothing's happening yet anyway? They're better off there."_

_Derek nodded. "Okay. Do you want to head back up to your room?"_

_Amy nodded. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea."_

_They got back to the room and Amy was settled back in her bed when Addison made a visit._

"_How are we feeling mommy?"_

_Amy smiled. "Good actually. I think my body is getting used to this whole labor thing."_

_Everyone laughed. _

"_Well I'm just going to make sure everything is on track and then I'll leave you, sounds good?"_

_Addison wasn't there long, and as she was leaving, Mark came through the door. _

"_Do you need anything?" Mark asked, a little bit nervous about all this. He figured he'd practice on Amy as he knew it wouldn't be long before it was Lexie who'd be in her position. _

"_Actually… If you don't mind running out to the house and grabbing my bag, I would truly appreciate it. And if you could find Julian that would be even better."_

_Mark nodded. "I'll be back soon, okay?"_

_Not ten minutes after Mark had left, Lexie was getting settled in a room across the hall. She and Meredith had just been lounging around the house when Lexie's water had broken. The two women rushed to the hospital, where Miranda greeted them and got Lexie to a room. _

"_I'm going to go find Mark, okay?"_

_Lexie nodded as Addison entered. _

"_Did you and Amy plan this?"_

_Meredith stopped in her tracks on the way out. "What?" she and Lexie both asked. _

"_Amy's across the hall, much in the same position as you right now."_

_The two women were in shock. "Seriously?" Meredith asked. _

_Addison nodded. "Seriously."_

_After getting Amy's room number, she left Lexie in Addison's hands, promising to be back really soon._

_She entered Amy's room, only to find Derek._

"_Where's Amy?"_

_Derek pointed towards the bathroom door. "Mom took her for a bladder relieving."_

_Meredith laughed. "Okay. Where's Mark? Addison said last she saw him, he was coming here?"_

_Derek looked a bit confused. "He went to Amy's to pick up her stuff." It was then that he realized that Meredith had been with Lexie, and now she was here. "Wait, is Lexie…"_

_Meredith nodded as she pulled out her cell phone. "I've got to call Mark."_

_Across town, Mark pulled into Amy and Julian's driveway. He spotted Julian's car right away and thanked some higher force for this luck. He quickly got out of the car and headed for the door. He didn't even knock, he just headed straight in and called out into the quiet house. _

"_Julian?"_

_The distant response came from upstairs. "Up here!"_

_Mark found Julian in what was going to be the nursery. "Mark! What are you doing here?"_

"_It's Amy, she's in labor. She tried calling your cell and your work, but there was no answer. I was swinging by to pick up her bag. Thank God you're here."_

_Julian patted his pockets, trying to find his cell phone. "I was sure I had my phone on me… It must have stayed in the car, or at work, or…"_

_Mark shook his head. "It doesn't matter anymore, not right now. We need to get you to the hospital."_

_Just then, Mark's phone rang. _

_It was Meredith._

"_Hello?" he answered quickly, while making his way back downstairs and towards the car. He already knew what Meredith was about to say. _

_Julian followed him into his car and Mark didn't waste any time getting on the road._

_They needed to get to the hospital. _

_XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX_

"_Where are they?"_

_Both Lexie and Amy were getting edgy. Amy was glad Mark had found Julian, but now neither one of them was in sight. It had been a half hour since they were last able to reach them, and they should have been here long ago. _

_Carolyn, Meredith, Lexie and Amy were all sitting around a table in the cafeteria, both women not able to sit still for more than a few seconds. They just wanted their men to be there, and they couldn't get settled until they were there. _

"_They're probably just stuck in traffic," Meredith tried soothing them, hoping it would relax their nerves. _

"_Probably," Cristina said as she came out of nowhere and plopped herself down on the empty chair beside Carolyn. "Jackson was supposed to be here 20 minutes ago to pick me up, but he called to tell me there's been an accident on the damn Devil's Turn again and traffic is backed up all the way to tim-buck-too. You'd think they would've fixed that road by now."_

"_Cristina!" Meredith chastised, right away noticing the panicked looks on Amy and Lexie's faces at the mention of the Devil's Turn. "You of all people should be a little more sensitive about such a topic."_

_It was then that Cristina realized the mistake she had made. _

"_Oh God, guys…" she said, looking straight at Lexie and Amy. "I'm so sorry… I tend to say things I really shouldn't, foot-in-mouth disease, you know? I'm sure they're fine. I can't believe I even said that. God, I'm so stupid. I wasn't thinking straight. Look, I'll call Jackson, see if he can go look for them?" _

_She didn't even give them time to answer, she just hit redial on her phone._

"_Hey hun, you still stuck? You haven't moved yet? Perfect, put the car in park and go for a walk. Find Mark and Julian. They're in –"_

"_Mark's SUV," Carolyn replied quickly._

" – _they're in Mark's SUV, and haven't been answering calls. They were coming from Amy and Julian's, right?" she looked at the women in front of her for confirmation. They nodded. "Yeah, so they would've been coming around that corner from the same direction as you. There was a short silence. "Okay, so you're out of the car now? Okay. Uh huh. Yup…"_

_Lexie and Amy watched patiently as Cristina listened to whatever it was that Jackson was saying on the other side. _

_Cristina suddenly pulled the phone away from her ear and tapped a button. When the men's voices came over the line, Cristina smiled at the reactions on the women's faces and laughed. "It's for you."_

_XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX_

"_What was that?" Mark asked, at the sound of a loud crunch as soon as he started backing out of the driveway. _

_Julian shrugged, but Mark kept backing up. He figured once he backed up far enough, he'd be able to get a glance of whatever it was that he most definitely backed over. _

"_Damn!" _

_Lying in a thousand pieces on the pavement was his iPhone. Julian tried to be sympathetic, but couldn't help but chuckle. _

"_It's not funny!" Mark exclaimed._

_Julian shrugged. "It kind of is. In such a rush to get to the hospital to be at his wife's side for the labour of their first child, man accidently crushes brand new, not even available commercially yet, iPhone 4s. I'd say that's pretty funny." _

_Mark pouted, but quickly got over it. _

_However, when they arrived at the corner that still both gave them the chills, and noticed that the traffic was at a standstill, the crushed iPhone was no longer funny. _

"_Shit!" Mark said, knowing that they weren't going anywhere anytime soon. "Damn!"_

_Julian didn't laugh this time, knowing that this was serious. _

"_Man, I shouldn't have laughed about the iPhone."_

_Mark shook his head. "It isn't so funny anymore, is it?"_

_Julian shook his head. "Not at all. And of course, I pick today to leave my phone at the office."_

_They both became quiet. They sat in silence for a few seconds as they waited for the traffic to start up. _

"_This is the first time I've taken this corner since the accident," Mark suddenly revealed, breaking the silence. _

_Julian nodded, not really sure what to say. Eventually, he looked over to his brother in law. "How have you been feeling lately?"_

_Mark shrugged. "Alright, I guess. Better. I remember things more now, I'm less forgetful. I just got my license back last week, so getting used to driving again has been the big thing. I've been back to work for three weeks, but I'm mostly just handling sutures and low risk surgeries, and I don't work very many hours. I tire very quickly. But luckily, Derek understands all that and has been good to me." _

_It had been 8 months since the accident, but it had taken a lot out of Mark. As predicted, he had done pretty well until the beginning of March, where things started going downhill. He had trouble remembering names, other than the people he saw daily, and couldn't remember doing little things. He had struggled with simple tasks such as walking and writing, and he thanked the Lord every day for having had Lexie at his side through it all. He was also very thankful for the friends and family that supported him, but Lexie was the one who had taken on the biggest task of all, all while supporting the child growing inside of her. _

"_I don't know what I would have done without Lexie," Mark spoke aloud. _

_Julian nodded. "I get it. Amy was the same for me. And the thought of our baby on the way."_

_Mark sighed, his thoughts going back to the two women currently in the hospital. "I just wish we could at least reach them, see how things are going."_

_It was like his prayers had been heard. At that exact moment there was a knock on the window. _

"_Jackson? What are you doing?" Mark asked as he rolled down his window._

_Jackson simply passed over the phone. "There are two women that are looking to speak to you two." _

Both Mark and Julian had made it in time that day, Amy remembered fondly. No issues with either Lexie or Amy, and both had given birth to amazing little creatures. And although Lexie had been the one who was due first, Amy had the honor of welcoming Joshua to the world 23 minutes before Lexie had welcomed Celia.

**There you have it ! Another chapter !**


	7. Grampa's Backyard

**Okay, so I've gotten a lot of comments about how the flashbacks are confusing, so I'm going to stop using them as much (I might insert a few here and there, but not as many). However, the next few chapters were pre-written, so they still have the flashback elements in them. Especially this one. And as for Derek coming back, I promise it's going to happen, but not as soon as you guys are probably hoping... Give me a few more chapters, and he'll be here ! This is my Cristina/Jackson chapter (this one is for you tinnie75) ! Hope you enjoy (:**

"Honey, I'm home!"

Adele just rolled her eyes at her husband's antics. Richard swooped into the kitchen and planted a kiss on his wife's lips, not paying attention to the little people that were watching.

"Ewww."

He laughed and turned towards his two granddaughters, who were sitting at a little table in the corner eating carrot sticks.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, as he leaned down to give both Kelsey and Jessica a kiss on their heads. "I won't do it again."

"That's okay," Kelsey perked up. "Mommy and Daddy do it all the time too."

At the mention of Derek, Richard wondered if he had arrived yet.

"He's not home yet," the little girl continued, almost reading her grandfather's expression. _Smart kid,_ he thought. "But I'm sure that when he does get home, there will be a lot of kissing."

Richard laughed. Smart kid indeed.

"Where is everyone else?" he asked, to no one in particular.

"Meredith and Cristina are in the dining room getting the table set," Adele answered, as she stirred a few pots.

"Keegan is outside playing catch with Tuck and Ben," Kelsey then said, eating a carrot stick, then offering the second half to her grandfather. Jessica giggled when he ate it, straight out of her hand.

"No Miranda and Danielle?"

Adele didn't even turn to answer. "She said she'd be running a bit late. Ben picked up Tuck after school because Tuck had a dentist appointment, but Danielle stayed at the daycare. Miranda said they'd be here in time for supper though, so they shouldn't be too long."

Richard nodded, and took another carrot stick from Kelsey.

"Hey!" she exclaimed with a laugh, "that was my carrot!"

Richard crunched a little harder, making Jessica laugh again at his antics. He didn't say anything as he left the kitchen, heading for the dining room.

"Can I help with anything?"

Meredith and Cristina were about to say that they were almost done, when Kelsey and Jessica followed in behind him.

"Grandpa stole my carrot!"

Richard feigned innocence. "I didn't do such a thing!"

Kelsey looked to Jessica for support. "Jessie, did he take my carrot?"

She giggled as she nodded.

"See! I have a mitness!"

Meredith giggled. "It's a witness sweetie."

Kelsey rolled her eyes. "That's what I meant."

Meredith looked up to Richard, amusement dancing in her eyes. "I think you owe someone an apology."

Richard got down on his knees so that he was at the little girl's height. "I'm sorry I took your carrot."

Kelsey laughed. "It's okay, I have lots anyway and grams said we had to share."

With that, the two little ones ran back into the kitchen to their little table.

Richard got up from the floor. "You've got quite the little one there Meredith. She's smart as a whip, a little too smart if I'd say so myself."

Meredith shook her head and laughed. "She's definitely something. Sometimes, I wonder how old she actually is. It's crazy, the difference between her and Keegan. Keegan is a smart kid too, but Kelsey's just too smart for her own good. It'll more than likely get her in trouble someday down the road."

Cristina nodded. "I'm speaking from experience when I say that it definitely will."

The three adults laughed.

Just then, they heard the front door open and the little pattering of feet come into the dining room.

"Where are Kelsey and Jessie?" Danielle asked excitedly.

"Hello to you too sweetie," Richard answered.

Danielle giggled. "Sorry." She gave his legs a hug. Once she pulled back, she looked up to Richard expectantly.

"They're in the dining room."

And with that she was gone.

"They're quite the characters, all of them," Richard said as he started pouring glasses of water.

Cristina and Meredith had both taken a seat, clearly starting to get tired of being on their feet. With both of them almost 5 months pregnant, they were starting to feel the aches and pains that came with carrying a child.

"Tell me about it," Miranda said as she came through the doorway. "I can't get Danielle to sit still for ten seconds in order to get her coat off."

Meredith nodded. "Kelsey and Keegan are the talkers. I don't think I've ever heard anyone go on as long as the two of them do. Carolyn has to struggle to keep up with them, they talk so fast too!"

Cristina laughed as she leaned back and took a sip from her water. "Who would have ever guessed that I'd end up having the kid who is quiet and does exactly what she's asked? I thought that our parents prayed for grandkids in order for us to suffer through what they had to endure?"

Meredith shook her head. "You're all talk now, but you just wait until she's a teenager."

Miranda nodded in agreement. "It's true. They say it's always the ones that were quiet as kids that turn out being the rebel teens."

"I'd rather my kids be over talkative now than a bad seed when they're able to drive," Meredith said as she too grabbed her drink.

"You do realize that you guys are insinuating that my sweet little Jessica is going to be a bad kid? How do you think she'd feel if she knew that her Auntie Meredith didn't think she'd grow up to be a wonderful, loving, respectful adolescent?" Cristina tried playing the guilt trip card, but it failed.

Meredith laughed. "She'd probably think I was using you as the example when I made that image. I know about your crazy days."

Cristina sighed. "Damn you Lyle and your big mouth."

Meredith's mind flashed back to the day they had the honor of meeting Lyle Peters.

_*October 23__rd__ 2011*_

"_Hi, can I help you?"_

_Meredith had been stopped at the nurse's station when she spotted a man, looking as if he was totally lost and searching for someone. _

"_Hi, yes, actually," the man replied. "My name is Lyle Peters. My wife, she was admitted about three hours ago with severe chest pains. I was out of town and just got here, but she's not in the room that she said she was in."_

_Meredith motioned for him to follow her. "I can check it out for you. What's her name?"_

"_Zoe Peters," he answered, a nervous tinge to his voice. "She didn't think it was serious. Is it serious? Is that why she's not in her room? Did she get taken to surgery or something?"_

_Meredith glanced over Zoe Peters' charts and didn't note anything that seemed too alarming. _

"_She seems just fine according to her charts. They may have just taken her up to run some more tests something. We can go check out her room again. She's probably back by now, and I'm heading in that direction anyway, so I'll join you."_

_Meredith was trying to ease his nerves by suggesting she come with him, and it seemed to help. _

"_Okay then, yeah, that sounds good."_

_They headed towards Zoe's room and Lyle let out a breath when he heard voices upon approaching. _

"_Thank you Dr…"_

"_Shepherd," Meredith answered and was just about to keep going when the man she just met said something that made her turn._

"_Chrissy?" _

"_Chrissy?" Meredith asked herself as she turned back around, wondering if they had gotten the wrong room or something. _

_But there stood Lyle Peters, in Zoe Peters' room, staring at Cristina Yang. _

"_Holy shit!" Cristina exclaimed, then realized she was in front of a patient. "I'm sorry," she said as she turned back towards Zoe. "That was totally unprofessional of me."_

_Zoe just laughed. "That's alright. By the way that my husband is currently looking at you, I take it you know each other."_

"_Know each other?" Lyle said with a laugh. "Remember when I told you my first kiss was with my long time best friend and that after it happened, we both just shook our heads and pretended it never happened?"_

_His wife nodded as Cristina turned red. _

"_That would've been Chrissy here," Lyle finished with a laugh._

"_I was still pretending it never happened," Cristina added with a little laugh of her own. _

_It was at that moment that Meredith made her presence known. _

"_So Chrissy, how is it that I've never heard that story?"_

_Cristina turned to face Meredith and went red all over again. "Like I said, I was trying to forget it."_

"_Was it that bad?" Zoe asked, finding this all amusing. _

"_We were 13 and everybody else was doing it so we told ourselves, why not?" Lyle started. "We had been friends since we were 7 and we figured if we kissed each other, we'd know what it was like and at least no one else needed to know. So we puckered up and gave each other a peck." _

_Cristina cut in. "Except Mr. Brains over here wore dorky glasses and hit me in the nose with one of his lenses."_

"_The glasses weren't that bad," Lyle argued. _

_Cristina looked to Zoe. "They were embarrassing, I promise you." _

_Zoe nodded. "Oh, I've seen pictures."_

_Meredith chirped up. "Chrissy over here doesn't happen to be in any of them, does she?"_

_Cristina went wide eyed and started to shake her head. _

_Lyle just laughed. "Plenty."_

_Cristina sagged as Meredith chuckled. _

"_Oh get over it Cristina," Meredith teased. "We've been best friends for how many years now? I was bound to get my hands on them at some point."_

_Cristina rolled her eyes. _

_It was then that she realized they never really did any proper introductions. _

"_Lyle, this is my best friend Meredith. Meredith, Lyle Peters, and what I am guessing is his wife, and my patient, Zoe."_

_They all exchanged quick greetings and a few laughs. _

_Cristina turned back to Lyle. "Before you came in, I was just telling Zoe here that everything seems to be fine, but that I'd stay on alert for the next few days and if anything seems off, to come straight back in and to ask for me."_

_Lyle nodded. "Thank you." He paused before he continued. "You know, we should really exchange numbers and meet up at some point. Had I have known that Chrissy Ying Yang was in Seattle all this time, we could have caught up much sooner." _

"_This keeps getting better," Meredith said, in reference to the name Lyle gave Cristina._

_Cristina shot her daggers with her eyes and turned back to Lyle. "That actually sounds great."_

_It was at that moment that Jackson peeked his head through the door. "Dr. Yang, could I speak to you?" _

_Cristina waved him in. "Come join the party," she exclaimed. __Jackson gave her a puzzled look, but did as she said. _"_It's going to get around the hospital soon enough that Cristina Yang had a best friend as a kid, so I might as well get to introductions."_

"_Lyle Peters, this is Jackson Avery, my –"_

_Lyle cut her off. "Avery? Any relation to Harper Avery?"_

_Cristina seemed shocked. "You know who Harper Avery is?"_

_Lyle shrugged. "I'm a lawyer. Worked for the foundation for what seemed like forever, up until just a few years back when I moved to Seattle to be with Zoe." _

_Jackson nodded and answered his pending question. "Yes, actually. He's my grandfather." _

_Lyle smiled. "Which would make you the magnificent grandson that followed in the Avery footsteps. Harper raved about you all the time, just so you know."_

_Jackson laughed. "I know."_

_Meredith couldn't help but chuckle from her little corner. _

_Cristina gave her a look. "What?"_

_Meredith shrugged. "I was just thinking about the expression "what a small world!" then realized that we could literally live by that line sometimes." _

_Cristina rolled her eyes and turned back to Lyle's confused expression. "Meredith is just thinking about how the first guy I ever kissed worked for my now in-laws." _

_Lyle smiled. "I noticed the rings but thought it was a ploy. The Cristina Yang I knew swore that she would never marry anyone." _

_Meredith chuckled again. "Which makes the fact that she was previously engaged to a Harper Avery Award recipient even funnier."_

_Cristina shot her a final glance. "Would you shut up with the "small world" crap?" _

_Meredith just laughed a little more._

"_As shocking as this may seem," Jackson started, "she's actually mentioned you a few times over the past few years. She doesn't talk much about the past, but you're one person who has made it to the list of the limited people she'll mention."_

"_I feel honored," Lyle said as he pressed his hand against his heart._

"_You told Jackson about him, but you never told me?" Meredith said in mock disbelief. _

_Cristina shrugged. "You never asked, he did." _

_Meredith rolled her eyes. _

"_You'll get all the stories you want now," Lyle said. "And I have to say I'm looking forward to sharing them. And hearing more about this new Cristina Yang." _

"We really did learn a lot about the young Cristina Yang thanks to that man," Meredith said with a laugh.

"And I'm sorry I ever let you come along to hear all about it," Cristina grumbled. "I should have known better."

Meredith was going to throw in another comment when Keegan, Tuck and Ben came through the patio door.

"I'm just going to get the boys cleaned up before they eat," Ben said as he stopped to plant a quick kiss to Miranda's head. "It smells amazing like always Adele," he then called out towards the kitchen, next to the dining room.

"You flatter me Benjamin," Adele said softly, as she came through the doorway with a casserole. "The girls are already eating at the kid's table in the kitchen. The boys can join them if they'd like, but I imagine they'll want to be out here instead."

Richard smiled at the mention of the kids again. "I don't know what I'd do without all of your kids in my life," he said with a wistful smile.

"Didn't think you'd have so many grandkids to keep track of, did you?" Adele said with a small laugh.

Richard smiled, watching as the three other women in the room, the mothers of the kids that made him feel so complete, smiled in response. Every time someone referred to any of their kids as his grandkids, his eyes sparkled and they loved to see the man look so happy, especially after having seen him through a few rough patches during their time at Seattle Grace.

The door opened again as Jackson popped in.

"Sorry I'm late," he said as he slipped off his shoes and pushed them off to the side of the patio door. "I was cleaning out the garage, since this is the first nice day so far this spring, and I lost all track of time."

After having found out about Jessica's impending arrival, Jackson and Cristina had decided it was time to find themselves a house. They had originally considered one of the Harrington's houses, but the last two sold before they had a chance to snatch one. What they did find, however ended up being even better.

It wasn't that the house was necessarily exciting. It was typical. 4 bedrooms, two and a half baths and a great family area in the basement. The street was quiet and there were nearby schools, still in the same district as the rest of Seattle Grace clan of children. What made it the perfect house was that, just beyond their backyard, lived an elderly couple their daughter called grams and gramps.

When they had found the house, they gave an offer right away that was accepted almost instantly. They wanted to tell Richard so bad, but decide they'd make it a surprise instead.

_*August 12__th__ 2011*_

"_I promise, it'll be easier if I drive, because I know where we're going," Jackson argued with his father. _

"_But it's my truck," Richard argued back. _

"_That you've let me drive before on multiple occasions," Jackson replied, not getting why Richard was being like this. _

_Richard just crossed his arms over his chest and said nothing. _

_Jackson figured it out. "Is this because you haven't seen the place yet?" _

_Richard flinched. "No," he lied. _

_Jackson wanted to laugh, because Richard was being foolish and it was kind of funny to see his father like this._

"_You know we've been really busy lately, we just couldn't find the time…"_

_Richard shook his head. "Everyone else has seen it. Meredith and Derek, Addison and Sam, Izzie and Alex… The only reason Mark and Lexie haven't seen it is because they've got a new-born at home. Otherwise, they would have seen it too. Before me."_

"_We wanted it to be a surprise," Jackson argued. "Trust me on this one."_

_Richard still didn't seem to be giving up the keys. _

"_Cristina's over there waiting for us," Jackson said. "She even made lunch, which is something we really shouldn't miss, considering it's a rare occasion," he joked. _

"_Fine," Richard said, giving in and passing him the keys. _

_They left the apartment in silence and Jackson was getting excited, knowing he'd get to see his father's reaction when he realized where the new house was._

_It wasn't long before Richard noticed the surroundings. "Are we stopping at the house first?" he asked, not understanding why Jackson was going towards his and Adele's house. _

_Jackson passed Richard's street and turned down the next. He then pulled into the third driveway on the left. _

"_Welcome!"_

_Richard gave him a shocked look. _

"_Jackson…"_

_Jackson smiled. "Yeah?"_

_Richard was still in shock. "This is pretty much my backyard."_

_Jackson shook his head. "Technically, it's not. You see, there's a fence that divides our backyard from your backyard, but I'm thinking that once we're settled in, I wouldn't mind adding a gate to the fence. It would make visiting easier. _

_Richard still didn't know what to say. _

"_Can I give you the grand tour, neighbor?"_

_Richard was suddenly shaken from his state of shock, finally understanding why Jackson had been so secretive about it. _

"_I get it now," Richard said as they headed towards the house. He had a huge smile on his face, and couldn't get over the fact that his only son was going to be living in his backyard. _

_Jackson knew exactly what he meant. "Everyone that came to visit had come before it was officially ours, and we didn't want to show you until we knew that nothing could go wrong. We didn't want to disappoint you if something fell through. But I received the keys yesterday and figured we could start moving some of the basics, which also gave me an excuse to get you to come along." _

_Richard nodded, not needing the explaining. He had figured all of that out on his own. _

_They were now in the house, and Cristina had met them at the door. _

"_Casserole's in the oven, shouldn't be long," she said as she greeted the men. _

"_Cooking casserole, that's quite the step up from frozen pizzas," Richard joked. _

_Cristina laughed. "I figured it was about time to learn how to make food. I can't always rely on Jackson, although I'll still let him do most of the cooking." _

"_Shall we show you around?" _

_They showed Richard around the main floor first, then made their way upstairs. _

"… _and this is going to be the nursery."_

"_The nursery?" Richard asked. The couple had been married for a little over two months now, but this was the first time he heard them mention kids. _

_Jackson smiled towards Cristina who gave a subtle nod. He returned his gaze to his father's. "Yeah, the nursery. You know, where babies usually stay for the first part of their lives." _

_Richard shooed him. "I know what a nursery is. I just didn't know whether kids had been discussed or not…" _

"_That was one of the main reasons we got the house," Cristina explained. "Especially why we got _this_ house. We want you to be a part of our future kids' lives."_

"_And I'm going to need help painting the nursery, along with the rest of the house since Cristina here will be no help at all." _

_Cristina gave him a light tap. "Hey, that wasn't nice."_

_Jackson just laughed, forgetting that his father still hadn't caught on to the meaning behind the last statement. _

"_If you're willing to help, I was planning on starting with the main rooms, you know, living room, kitchen, dining room… I was going to do the master and the bathrooms after, then work my way into here. I mean, I've still got about 7 months before I need to have it done."_

_Something clicked in Richard's eyes and suddenly the comment about not being able to do any painting made sense. "You're already pregnant!" Richard exclaimed._

_Cristina laughed. "I am. And you're the first one to know. Other than Addison of course, and Helen. You get the honor of knowing even before Meredith." _

"_How long have you known?" Richard then asked. _

"_A little over a month now," Cristina revealed. "We wanted to make sure everything was going smoothly before we talked too much about it." _

"_We had an appointment with Addie yesterday and she says everything is going as it should, so we're going to start telling people." _

_Richard was on the verge of tears. "I'm so excited for you guys."_

_Jackson smiled as he wrapped an arm around his father. "I'm glad. It won't be long before kids are going to start calling you gramps."_

_Richard nodded. "I know."_

And I wouldn't have it any other way,_ he thought to himself, before giving Cristina a proper congratulatory hug and relishing in the fact that he had gotten everything he had ever dreamed of. _

_A family. _

Cristina smiled at the memory that had flooded her, Jackson having used the backdoor instead of the front, due to the easy access from their house. Her smile grew when Jackson leaned down and placed a kiss on her head.

"What were you thinking about?" he asked, recognizing the look on her face as being on of reminiscing.

"I was thinking about the day we told Richard about Jessica's impending arrival," Cristina answered, causing Richard to smile as he overheard.

"That was quite the day," Richard stated with his own wistful smile.

Cristina nodded. "That, combined with the talk about Celia and Joshua's birthdates today in the attending's lounge got me thinking about the day that I found out. I don't think I've ever told anyone, other than Jackson of course."

Meredith and Miranda now seemed curious. "What does it have to do with Celia and Joshua's birthday?"

"Because," Cristina stated, "that's the day I found out."

_*July 8__th__ 2011*_

_Cristina frantically checked her watch. _

"_Jackson," she mumbled to herself. "Where are you?"_

_She was sitting in the lobby, her nerves making her leg jump up and down. Any other day, it wouldn't bother her that Jackson was late. In actuality, she had her motorcycle in the parking lot, and had meant to drive that home, but her brain didn't think it could handle such a vehicle right now. Her thoughts were all over the place. _

_It had started that morning, when she had been walking to a patient's room. While chatting with Addison on the way, she was suddenly hit with a cramp. She leaned over a bit, not alarmed, but uncomfortable. _

"_You alright?" Addison asked, noticing Cristina's movement. _

_Cristina waved her off. "Yeah, probably just menstrual cramps. I used to get them all the time."_

_Addison nodded, but Cristina suddenly was panic stricken. _

"_Yang?"_

_Cristina had stopped in the middle of the hall and was counting in her head. She kept counting and counting, but it never added up. _

_She had always been regular, but all of a sudden she was 11 days late. 11 days! She had never been more than 1, maximum 2. 11 days… _

_Did that mean?_

"_Cristina?"_

_She looked up to Addie, who was smirking. _

"_I recognize that look on your face Yang," she said, a hint of teasing in her voice. "Paired with your previous comment, I'd – "_

_Cristina put her hand out. "Stop. Don't say it."_

_Addison nodded, still smiling. "Okay, but if you want to come with me and, I don't know, do a blood test or something, just because…" _

_Cristina gave her a look and Addison stopped. _

"_Okay, well if you change your mind, you know where to find me. I'll be here all day, and tomorrow, and the –"_

_She was cut off by the sound of her pager. She immediately looked down. _

"_It's Amy, I've got to get this." But before she left, she rested her hand on Cristina's shoulder. "But I'm serious. Come see me any time if you feel the need to." _

_With that, Addie was gone, leaving Cristina to her thoughts for the next 5 hours. _

_And now she was anxiously awaiting Jackson's arrival so she could stop at a pharmacy and pick up a pregnancy test. _

_She could have done her own blood test, she knew that, and it would have given her a more accurate response than a home pregnancy test, but she didn't think she could handle that right now. She needed to have Jackson nearby if she wanted to be able to fully handle the news, if there was in fact news to handle. _

_She couldn't take it. She picked up her phone and called Jackson, impatience getting the best of her. _

_She didn't even get to say a word before Jackson had given her the answer she was searching for. "Hey hun. I'm sorry I'm running late. There's been yet another accident at Devil's turn and I'm caught up in the traffic. I'll be there when I can get there."_

_Cristina got out an okay before they both hung up. _

_She couldn't sit here any longer. She needed to move. _

_She headed in the direction of the cafeteria, where she immediately spotted Meredith, Lexie, Amy and Carolyn. She went off in their direction. _

"…_They're probably just stuck in traffic," she overheard Meredith say. By the looks on Lexie and Amy's faces, she knew that Meredith must have been referring to Mark and Julian._

_She plopped herself down, said a few stupid things, freaked out Lexie and Amy, got scolded by Meredith, eventually redeemed herself by getting the men on the line, and still, she couldn't get her brain to shut up about what she now was sure was real. _

_By the time that Mark and Julian had arrived, she needed to get away. She said a quick goodbye and wished everyone luck, and headed towards the lobby again. If Mark and Julian were here, Jackson couldn't be far. _

_She found him standing by the door in the lobby. Without even a greeting, Cristina mumbled, "can we get out of here?"_

_Jackson nodded, not really sure what had gotten into his wife. She had seemed so timid, so small, not usual Cristina Yang features. She was quiet while they walked hand in hand towards the car. Once they were both seated inside, Jackson turned towards Cristina. _

"_Hey, are you alright?"_

_Cristina nodded and gave him a small smile. "Yeah, I'm just tired. It's been a long day."_

_Jackson seemed a bit skeptical. "Are you sure that's all this is?"_

_Cristina nodded again, but it wasn't very convincing. Jackson let it slide though. _

"_Did you want to stop and eat somewhere for supper, or do you want to just pick up some take-out?"_

_Cristina looked over towards Jackson. _

"_Take-out?" she asked quietly. _

_Jackson nodded. "Okay, take-out it is." _

_He pulled out of the parking lot. _

"_What are you in the mood for tonight?" Jackson asked, worried about how quiet Cristina was being. She didn't seem to want to share right now, so the least he could do was engage her in small talk. _

"_Can we do that Chinese place next to the CVS? I need to go grab a few things."_

_Jackson nodded, but, again, didn't ask any questions. She would come to him when she felt she was ready, or if she felt the need. He trusted her. _

_The drive to the Chinese takeout and the pharmacy was quiet and when they finally pulled in, Jackson turned towards Cristina and rested his hand on her knee. "I'll go in and order while you go pick up whatever it is that you need, okay?"_

_Cristina nodded, but Jackson didn't remove his hand. _

_He hesitated, but eventually spoke up. "Whatever it is Cristina, I want you know you can talk to me. This isn't like you, and I want to be able to help you. Okay?" _

_Cristina smiled. She really was a lucky woman. She had a really good man taking care of her, and for that, she would be forever grateful. _

"_Okay," she answered, giving his hand a rub. "I will."_

_Jackson returned her smile, happy to see her in a lighter mood again. She even leaned over the console to give him a quick kiss before they both left the car and headed in opposite directions. _

_The drive home had been a little livelier. They mostly talked about Lexie and Amy and wondered how they were doing. By the time they had gotten home, they were both famished and Cristina managed to get through a normal supper, even with everything on her mind. _

_As soon as supper was over, Jackson volunteered to clean up, sensing Cristina was looking for an escape. _

"_Thanks," she said as she gave him a little kiss on the cheek. "I'm going to go take a shower." _

_Jackson nodded and watched her go towards the bathroom, purse in hand. _

_Before getting in the shower, Cristina did what she had to do. She figured a shower would be time enough for the tests to do their jobs. _

_When she stepped out of the shower, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, all while picking up the tests, one in each hand. _

_When Cristina emerged from the bathroom, Jackson was stretched out on the couch reading a medical journal. He immediately looked up at the sound of her approaching and noticed the look on Cristina's face. She looked scared, but happy at the same time. _

_That's when he noticed her holding something. _

"_Cristina?" he asked, wondering if this was the moment everything from the past few hours would make sense._

"_Remember that time when I told you I didn't think that you were everything I needed?"_

_Jackson nodded, his voice suddenly escaping him. He knew exactly what she was talking about, and had a very good feeling he knew what was coming._

"_You're doing a very good job at giving me what it is that I do need." _

_She gave him a bright smile before handing over the positive pregnancy test. They had both come out with the same results, confirming what Cristina had figured. _

_Cristina Yang was pregnant. _

"_Oh Cristina," Jackson said, emotion welling. _

"_You're okay with this, right?" _

_Jackson nodded frantically. "Yes, of course, oh my God, I…"_

"_We're going to have a baby!" _

_After they shared the moment of excitement, Cristina settled in Jackson's embrace, reveling in the feeling. _

"_I need to go see Addie tomorrow." _

"_This soon?" Jackson asked, figuring she would have waited at least a little bit. _

_She nodded. "I miscarried early on during my first pregnancy. I want to make sure everything is okay. Besides, I think she knows, and she'll want to hear me confirm it."_

_She went on explaining how it had all went down that morning, and Jackson just listened attentively. _

_Cristina was pregnant. _

_They were going to be having a baby. _

"How did Addison react when you told her?" Meredith asked as Cristina finished her story.

Cristina laughed. "She gave me one of those smiles, you know the one."

Meredith nodded. "Do I ever."

"I'm just glad I got to tell Jackson before I confirmed it with Addie. I didn't want to be yet another pregnant doctor that Addie knew about before the fathers did."

Meredith huffed. "Thanks."

Cristina nudged her arm. "And to think! You, it's been twice!"

"That makes me feel so much better," Meredith answered, as everyone else held in a smirk.

"Didn't you say one time that your magic number was four?" Miranda asked.

"Yeah…" Meredith answered, not really understanding the point.

"That gives you one more shot to let Derek know first!"

This time everyone chuckled. In the beginning, no one would have made such comments. Meredith was so distraught over the fact that she couldn't tell her husband she was pregnant. Eventually, she started making jokes about how she was going to tell Derek she was pregnant, even though it had become slightly obvious. For a second time, Meredith wasn't growing very much and her scrubs hid well her bump, but to Derek, it would be more obvious. Eventually, it was taken lightly and Meredith was a lot more relax about it. It didn't help the fact that absolutely everyone knew that she was pregnant before her husband did, but it wasn't something that she could change so she accepted it and made the best out of it. And that included the teasing.

"Hey!" Cristina exclaimed all of a sudden. People had started to serve themselves supper, but everyone paused. "I didn't know your due date was September 3rd!"

Meredith gave her best friend a questioning look. "Yeah, so?"

Cristina pointed to herself. "My due date is September 3rd!"

Meredith's jaw dropped. "Shut up!"

Everyone around the table laughed at the reactions and couldn't help but be happy. Even Miranda, who, right now, felt like smiling was the last thing she wanted to do.

She could handle it, at least for tonight.

Or so she thought.

**So as an apology for taking forever (once again) I'm going to post the next chapter too! Hope you enjoy (:**


	8. Suffering and Safe Havens

Teddy Altman never thought her life would have turned out like this. She had always imagined the soldier's life, single and alone for the rest of her days. Okay, so she was still single, but she was far from being alone.

When Hunter Anderson Altman was born, Teddy discovered a happiness she never thought she'd find again after having lost Owen. Although she was back at Seattle Grace and back with the people who cared most about her, she took a very long time to accept that Owen wasn't coming back. Deep down, she had always hoped that Owen would just randomly show up, not dead like she thought him to be. As they had never found his body, there was no real proof that he had died, but the U.S. Army listed him as deceased. She, however, was still hopeful and had stayed hopeful for a very long time.

That was until the moment her son was born.

She could feel Owen's presence in their son. That was what made her name him Hunter. With the name Hunter, he'd be able to have a piece of his father's identity with him, even though he'd never know the man.

Even though Anderson was his middle name, it quickly became a hit with everyone, including Teddy. He was more often known as Andy than Hunter, which honestly made things easier on Teddy. She didn't realize that by naming her son Hunter, she'd be reminded of her loss every day. The name Andy seemed to suit him much better anyway.

She smiled when she reached the daycare, quickly noting that a lot of the kids that had been there this morning were now gone.

Andy sat with Nate in the block building section, and Teddy just watched as the two boys interacted.

"They seem to have become good friends," Addison said, sneaking up on Teddy.

After a startled little jump, Teddy nodded. "Yeah, they have. All of them, really."

Addie gave Teddy a once over, trying to figure out what was bothering the woman. She could tell just by seeing the look in her eyes that her fellow surgeon wasn't really all there.

"Teddy? Are you okay?"

Teddy shrugged, then nodded. "Yeah, it's nothing. I'm fine."

Addison gave her a skeptical look. "Are you sure?"

Teddy nodded again, this time a little more convincingly. She even gave Addie a small smile.

It was at that moment that the two little boys noticed their mothers standing in the window and both got up and rushed over to greet them.

"Mommy!" Nate exclaimed. "Me and Andy got to make a volcano today. Keegan too!"

Addison smiled. "Oh yeah?"

Andy nodded. "Yeah! There were bubbles everywhere!"

Addison watched as Teddy smiled at her son. _Maybe that was all that she needed. _

The hallways were empty as the four of them started making their way towards the lobby when they were stopped by a nurse.

"Dr. Altman?"

"I'm off for the night so if it's something surgical, page the on-call doctor."

The nurse shook her head. "No nothing like that. There was someone in here earlier looking for you. He didn't give a name or a number, he said he'd find you eventually. I just thought I'd give you a forewarning."

Teddy and Addison exchanged confused glances.

"Do you remember what the guy looked like?"

The nurse shook her head. "Not really. He was wearing a hoody, but he seemed to have a lot of scars. Not fresh ones, old scars. And he was always looking around him, kind of like he was worried he'd get caught or something."

Before Teddy could get in a word, the nurse's eyes went big as she discreetly pointed towards a chair in the lobby.

"That's him over there," she said, making both Teddy and Addison turn around.

The nurse had been right. His hoody made it difficult for anyone to recognize who he was. Anyone that is, but Teddy.

She stopped dead in her tracks. She couldn't move.

It couldn't be.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

"Guys!" Meredith exclaimed out of the blue. She had picked up her phone and found an unread text, a text that was worth sharing with everyone.

Everyone stopped picking up their supper dishes and looked at her, expecting news from Derek.

"Alex proposed!"

Cristina and Miranda were the first ones to react.

"What do you mean proposed?" Miranda asked.

"I clearly remember going to their wedding," Cristina added. "Doesn't a proposal usually come before the wedding?"

Meredith shooed them with her hand and began reading the text Izzie had sent her.

"_Alex just proposed! I mean, in an unconventional way. He asked me if I wanted to renew our vows, you know, since our first wedding wasn't really ours. All of a sudden, he gets down on one knee and pulls out a ring, saying that I never got to experience this and all that and then asked me to continue being his wife. I said yes of course. So now I'm married and engaged!" _

Everyone in the room smiled.

"That's precious," Adele said, the first to voice her opinion.

"They definitely deserve to have something of their own, especially after everything they've been through," Richard added.

"I'm glad that Izzie will get a second chance at making her own wedding the wedding she wants," Meredith added. "Although, that wedding looked more like a wedding that she would have had than I would have, considering she organized it."

"And," Cristina began to add, "she's had the opportunity to organize more than enough weddings in the past few years to last her a lifetime."

Jackson gave her a smile.

"I had just been so glad to see her so happy that day so many years ago," Meredith said, remembering Izzie in the hospital bed. "God, we didn't think she'd make it."

Richard smiled. "She pulled through, and now she's living the life she was meant to have."

Adele was the first one to notice the missing guest. "Where did Miranda go?"

Ben quietly answered. "She needed to head out. She must have gotten a page or something and didn't want to bother anyone."

No one questioned him, but everyone could tell he was lying.

They'd find out eventually.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

"Miranda! What are you doing here?"

Miranda didn't know what had brought her here, but this is where her subconscious wanted her, so this was where she was. She knew that the person in front of her would understand, and she knew that she needed to talk about what was going on to someone.

"I… am I interrupting?" she asked.

Izzie shook her head. "No, not at all. Alex is cleaning up the supper dishes and Dustin is asleep. Would you like to come in?"

Miranda shook her head, and noticed the outdoor chairs on her deck. "I'd rather just sit out here if that's alright."

Izzie nodded, and the two settled in the chairs.

Izzie had never seen the older woman so hesitant or nervous in the long years she had known her. She didn't press, just allowed Miranda to take her time.

"I heard about your engagement," Miranda eventually said. "Congratulations."

Izzie smiled. "Thank you. Did Meredith tell you?"

Miranda nodded. "Yeah, we were all over at Richard's for supper."

Izzie nodded. "Is that why you're here?" she asked skeptically. "Just to say congrats?"

Miranda shook her head. "No."

They waited a few more seconds in silence before Miranda took a deep breath and let it all out on the table.

"Two weeks ago, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. They say stage 3, but that if I had waited any longer, it would have started spreading to my lungs. I have a lumpectomy scheduled tomorrow and other than my doctor and Ben, no one knows about it. I've been so ashamed and embarrassed and scared that I didn't know who to go to. I knew I should've come to you earlier, but I just couldn't find the courage to do it. And then when Meredith got your text, everyone started talking about how well you had done and how amazing it was that you got through it, and I realized that, first of all, I needed to get out of there because I couldn't handle them talking about how scared they were that you weren't going to make it. But more importantly, I realized that I had you. You've come to me over the past years anytime you needed help, even when it came to the scarier or more embarrassing things and I realized that I had nothing to be afraid or embarrassed of when it came to coming to you for help. So, here I am."

Izzie reached over and wrapped Miranda in her arms, and noted that the woman was shaking.

"Are you sure you don't want to go inside? Are you cold?"

Miranda shook her head. "No no, I just need you to tell me how you did it."

Izzie gave her a sad smile. "There's no magic trick that helps you through this. You just need to have faith in yourself and the will to push through. Want to know what gave me that?"

Miranda nodded.

"Knowing I had people around to support me, to love me. I didn't say anything to anyone in the beginning because, like you, I was scared and embarrassed and didn't want anyone to treat me differently, but the moment that people started to know, I realized I should have let them in earlier. Support and love was what got me through it."

Miranda nodded slowly.

"So…" Izzie started when Miranda said nothing.

She took another deep breath. "So I need to go back to Richard's and tell people. Those are my people, the people who will help me through this. I need to tell them."

Izzie nodded and smiled. "Good. Do you want me to come with you?"

Miranda hesitated, which Izzie quickly noticed. "I don't want to bother you… You're getting ready for supper and –"

Izzie shooed her with her hand. "Nonsense. You were away on a weekend getaway when I went into labour with Dustin and you rushed to my bedside. I think I can spare you an hour or so for support."

Miranda smiled for the first time since arriving. "Thank you."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

"Hey, how's she doing?"

Mark quietly entered Alyssa's hospital room and took a seat next to Amy. Amy was quietly watching her daughter sleep, all while trying to reach Julian.

She looked up at the sound of Mark's voice. "She's doing good. Doctor says it's nothing bad and I have nothing to worry about. He gave me the diagnosis, but I was too busy being happy over the fact that she was okay. It's crazy how fast we go from doctor to parent, heh?"

Mark nodded, taking the seat beside her. "It is." He took a short pause before continuing. "You still look worried. Want to talk about it?"

Amy looked at her phone. "It's Julian. He's not picking up. Ever since the accident, I get worried whenever someone doesn't pick up after I've called a couple times. I know, it's been over 4 years, but it still gets to me. Especially when he's got the kids with him. God, does that make me weak?"

Mark shook his head and rested his hand on hers. "Not at all. It's in your job description to worry. What happened four years ago was horrifying, and it took everyone a long time to recover from. I feel like a hypocrite saying that, because honestly, I missed the worst of it."

"Mark…" Amy cut him off. "You can't say that. Yes, you were unconscious for a good chunk of it, but you suffered the most out of all of us. I was so scared there for a while."

Mark nodded. "Me too." He didn't admit it often, but the months after the accident had been some of the scariest in his life.

_*April 15__th__ 2011*_

"_Mark?" _

_Lexie had just gotten home from work and found the house quiet when she arrived. She hated finding the house quiet, because usually that meant that something had happened. The past few months had been very tough on Mark, and Dr. Lewis and Derek's predictions had been coming true. Mark had been really good for a few months, but after their honeymoon, things had started going downhill. _

"_Mark?" she called out a bit louder. Still no answer. _

_This made her nervous. She once came home to Mark passed out in their bed, face down in the pillow and struggling to breathe. Another time, she had come home to the kitchen enveloped in smoke. He had put something in the oven and had forgotten all about it. Another time, he had been outside, wandering in the woods around their house, not sure where he was. Every time she went to work, she got nervous. She tried getting as many people to come "visit" him throughout the day, and Derek had been great to come over as often as possible. He had also become quite close to the boys at the Inn, as they would come swing by, covering their impromptu visits as being maintenance calls much to Lexie's relief. Addison would come by too and bring Nate, which would make Mark extra happy. And Jackson took any opportunity possible to come up and get Mark to tell him stories of plastic surgeries, just to keep his mind fresh. Mark enjoyed telling them, but Jackson quickly noticed that he'd often tell the same ones without realizing it, and change the details. Details to a surgeon were everything, so this worried everyone, as it was something they all noticed. _

"_It'll get better with time," Derek assured Lexie. "This isn't usually permanent. He'll be back to himself before you know it." _

_But Lexie didn't know how long she'd survive all this worrying. _

"_Mark, hun? Are you here?"_

_She made her way to the second storey, and if she didn't find him there, she'd head outside. _

_That's when she heard the shower running. _

_She let out a breath. _He can't hear me_ she thought. _

_She knocked on the door, trying to get his attention, but there was no response. The door was unlocked, so she invited herself in. _

"_Mark, you alright in there?" she asked, just peering her head through the doorway. _

_Still no answer._

_What if he slipped and fell? What if he passed out?_

_She made her way to the shower and didn't hesitate before peering her head through the shower curtain. _

"_Mark?"_

_He was sitting on the ground in the tub in his boxers, the shower running at an incredible heat, just staring blankly ahead. _

"_Mark," she said again._

_She was getting no response. _

_She gave his shoulder a shake. _

"_Mark hun, are you okay?"_

_He just kept staring ahead. _

_He blinked, he took a breath here and there, but he didn't do anything else. _

_Lexie reached over towards the water controls and turned them off. She hoped this would startle him out of his stupor. _

_But there was no reaction. _

_She didn't know what to do. In any other situation, she would have tried to assist him out of the tub, but at six months pregnant, she knew that that wouldn't be good for her. She tried giving him another little nudge, but he wasn't budging. _

"_Derek?" she said as soon as her brother-in-law picked up. _

_Derek could sense the fear in Lexie's voice. _

"_Lex, what is it? Is it Mark?"_

_She told him everything and tried to explain the state that her husband was in. All the while, Mark still didn't react, even to Lexie's shaky voice speaking into the phone receiver. _

"_Addison's here with me and we're on our way."_

_Derek made it there in no time, accompanied by Addison, and he assessed the situation. _

"_The best thing to do right now is to see if he'll still react to his instincts. I'm going to try and help him out of the tub, and we'll see if he attempts to walk." _

_Derek and Addison managed to pull him out of the tub and get him to his feet. As soon as his feet hit the ground, he started to take steps forward. They quickly realized that although his instincts were still good, he wasn't very sturdy on his feet and couldn't bear much weight. They led Mark to his and Lexie's room and got him settled in bed. As soon as he was lying down, his eyes shut and his breathing became more even. _

"_Is he going to be okay?" Lexie asked once they had shut the door and had started making their way back downstairs. _

"_I think his brain is just extremely exhausted. He can't focus on anything, but his body still reacted in a natural way to things that we don't need to think about how to do, like walk or close your eyes." _

_Lexie nodded, but was still absolutely terrified. _

"_Do you know what he was up to today?"_

_Lexie shook her head. "I have no idea. Most days, he just watches TV and sleeps."_

"_I think I can answer that one," Addison said as she picked up papers from the table. _

_Derek took a look at them and realized they were case files, plastics patients. _

"_Damn. I asked Jackson to bring him some case files, just to keep his brain busy. He must have gone on overload. That's a lot of pages…" _

_Lexie shook her head. "That's my fault. He kept asking for more, so I brought home some extras. I didn't think he'd go through them all in one day…"_

_Derek wrapped an arm around Lexie's shaking frame. "It's okay sweetie. It's not your fault. He's going to be okay."_

_Lexie sobbed a bit longer in Derek's arms, trying to get a hold on her emotions. _

"_I have an idea. How about you head over to my place and spend the night with Meredith and the twins? I'll stay here and keep an eye on Mark for the night. I'm off tomorrow and I know you've had a long day."_

"_Are you sure?" Lexie asked, not wanting to make Derek feel like he needed to take care of her husband. _

"_Positive. Lexie, you need to take care of yourself and my little niece or nephew right now. You need a break from having to take care of Mark too."_

"_I'll even drive you over," Addison offered, giving Lexie a smile. _

_Lexie nodded. _

_She collected some clothes from the clean laundry in the laundry room, not wanting to bother Mark while he slept. Derek called Meredith to let her know that her sister was on her way. _

_It was in the late hours of that night when Mark finally woke up. _

"_Derek?" he asked, confused. Derek was sitting in a chair next to his bed. "What… what are you doing here? Where's Lexie?"_

_Derek took a deep breath. "You had an incident earlier today. Do you remember?"_

_Mark closed his eyes. "I… I remember reading a case… I… I got up from the couch, and went upstairs and…" He paused, ad slowly opened his eyes. "I don't remember what happened after that."_

_Derek nodded. _

"_Derek, is there something wrong… with me?"_

_Derek shook his head. "No, this is normal considering your injury. It just makes everyone worry very much about you." _

"_Where's Lexie?"_

"_Lexie is spending the night with Meredith tonight. I'm staying here with you," Derek answered._

_Mark sighed. "Is… is she okay?"_

_Derek was silent for a few moments, but he finally answered. "She's fine." _

"Mom showed up the next day, do you remember?" Amy asked, looking at Mark as he finished recounting one of his scarier moments.

"Do I ever," Mark answered.

"_Mom? Is… that you?"_

_After his midnight chat with Derek, Mark hadn't woken again until supper time the next day. His body, and especially his brain, were exhausted. He noticed that the portable IV that usually stayed in his closet along with his wheelchair and crutches was all hooked up and that liquid was dripping through it and into his body. God, it must have been a rough night. _

"_Markie…" she whispered as she sat on the edge of his bed. "How are you feeling today?"_

"_Tired…" Mark answered. "Sore, and my head is pounding."_

_Carolyn gave him a sad smile and rested her hand on his head. "Derek tells me you've been having quite a few rough days lately."_

_Mark nodded. "I guess… I guess I have been having bad days…" He still didn't understand why Carolyn Shepherd was sitting on his bed, miles away from her home. "What are you doing here?"_

_Carolyn sighed. "Sweetie, someone needs to take care of you and frankly, Lexie can't handle that right now. Derek called last night and he didn't even have to ask. As soon as he filled me in, I booked a flight and here I am. I'll be here for however long you need me."_

"_Mom… You don't –"_

_Carolyn cut him off. "I don't want to hear it."_

"_I'm not even your kid," Mark argued. _

_Carolyn's eyes started to well with tears. "Is that how you feel? Because Mark Sloan, I assure you. Other than the blood running through your veins and your last name, you are as much one of my kids as Kathleen, Nancy, Derek, Natalie and Amy. Don't you ever, EVER dare say that again."_

_Mark couldn't help but crack a small smile. "Thanks Mom, I needed that. I love you." _

_Carolyn finally smiled as she kissed Mark's forehead. "I love you too, son."_

Just then, Amy's cell phone started to ring.

"Amy, I'm so sorry I missed your calls," Julian's voice said before she even had a chance to say hello. "The boys went to sleep, exhausted from their day at the hospital and I decided I could pull off taking a shower. I didn't hear the phone…"

Amy smiled and Mark knew who was on the other line. "It's okay," she answered. "I just get nervous, that's all. It'll lessen with time, I'm sure."

"I'm still very sorry… How are you and Alyssa holding up?"

Amy gave Julian a quick update and after a few more minutes, both hung up.

Mark smiled. "Everyone's okay."

Amy nodded. "Everyone's okay."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

At the Webber's, the supper guests were starting to pack up their troops and head each to their respective homes. Keegan and Kelsey sat side by side on the couch while Meredith helped them with their shoes. Danielle had fallen asleep on the armchair and Ben was bringing her stuff out to the car, planning on carrying his daughter out. Jessica was passed out in Richard's arms, exhausted from having spent the entire day with her friends. The little ones were all tired, it was clear, but all very happy with their day.

"Thanks for the delicious meal Adele, as always," Meredith said as she finished putting on the last shoe. "I'm truly thankful to have such wonderful people like all of you in my life."

Adele smiled. "Oh Meredith, the feeling is very much mutual darling. I feel so lucky to have all of you."

"Especially since you keep giving her grandbabies," Richard said with a chuckle.

Everyone laughed.

"Oh hush," Adele said, giving him a teasing glare. "I'd love all of them, even without the kids. The kids are simply a bonus."

"A wonderful bonus, might I add," said Tuck, with a grin.

Once again, everyone let out a chuckle.

Meredith was just getting ready to head out the door with a twin at the end of each hand when the front door swung open.

"Miranda!" Ben exclaimed from behind Meredith.

Miranda looked up at all the surprised faces behind her. She turned around, and Izzie, who had slid in the door behind her, gave her an encouraging nod.

"I… I don't want to hold any of you up… I just, I just need to say something."

Everyone nodded, but stayed quiet, waiting for Miranda to speak first.

Meredith looked over to Izzie, wondering what she had to do with all of this. Izzie just waited for Miranda to start.

"Tuck honey, do you mind taking the kids downstairs for a few minutes?"

Tuck wanted to argue and say that he wanted to stay, but he knew that whatever was going on was important and that his mom would talk to him later. He nodded, and led the toddlers to the basement, to the family room.

It had gone very quiet after the kids had left and everyone waited silently once again for Miranda to explain what was going on.

"I have cancer," she finally blurted out. "Breast cancer."

She told them the same thing that she had shared with Izzie not more than an hour ago. She stayed strong, and Ben sighed with relief, glad she had found the strength to let her people in. He wanted her to have all the support and love that she could, but she wouldn't allow herself to have that. Finally, she had given in and Ben couldn't be more proud of her.

"Miranda," Adele was the first to speak when Miranda had finished and she ushered the younger woman towards her. "Come here."

Adele wrapped Miranda in her arms, and let her have a few moments to sob. Everyone else watched on, stunned by the information and still not really sure how to react.

"We're here for you, throughout the entire process," Adele assured her.

"We'll be by your side," Richard added, rested his hand on her shoulder.

Meredith approached her once Adele had let her go and wrapped her into her arms. "You took care of me, it's my turn to care of you. We're all here."

Cristina agreed by taking Miranda's hand in hers and giving it a tight squeeze. "We've got your back."

Jackson stood back beside Ben and watched the scene, both men knowing that Miranda needed her people right now.

"Man, if you ever need anything throughout this process, we're here for all of you," Jackson said, placing his hand on Ben's back. "Babysitting, drives, favors of any kind, we'll handle it. I can even attempt casserole."

Ben smiled. "Thanks, I'll probably take you up on that. Minus the casseroles."

They both shared a small smile.

"I… I have a long day tomorrow, so I think… I think we should get going…"

Everyone gave the family their love and support and watched as they all headed out.

"How did we not know what was going on?" Meredith asked, shocked that they had missed it.

"Miranda's very private. She doesn't usually share these kinds of things," Richard stated.

"Still…" Meredith argued, gathering her kids once again.

"I've been through everything that she has been going through and I missed it," Izzie spoke up. "I can't believe that _I_ missed it."

"She'll be okay now," Adele said with a nod. "She's got all of us."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Teddy stood in the lobby of the hospital, jaw dropped and speechless.

"Teddy?"

"Mummy?"

Teddy didn't react to neither Addison nor Andy's call. She stood incredibly still, staring at the man in the hoody.

His gaze shifted towards the four of them and caught Teddy's eye. He immediately stood up and started towards them.

"Teddy," he whispered as he approached.

Teddy's voice was caught in her throat and tears started spilling from her eyes.

"Owen."

**Umm... what? An explanation will follow (and hopefully sooner than what I've made you guys suffer through... I'll try really really hard, I promise!)**


	9. Golden Age

**Hey there ! I just want to apologize for the long wait, but the past three weeks have been filled with projects and exams. I'm glad to announce however that I wrote my last exam today and will have plenty of time to write and update in the weeks to come (if I don't, I give you all permission to harass me!)**

**(SPOILERS - Tonight's episode has already played here in Canada, so if you haven't seen it, skip this next comment!) I wasn't planning on posting more than one chapter tonight, but after the episode Shonda has left us with tonight, I feel I must bring everyone ****comfort. The second chapter will do just that! **

**Anyway, enjoy!**

Addison watched the scene unfold before her, like something out of a movie. Owen Hunt, the man who had been dead for the last four and a half years was now standing before them, very much alive. She looked to Teddy, who stood absolutely still, save for the tears running down her cheeks. Addison didn't blame her. She had trouble wrapping her mind around this herself. Teddy had just found out that the love of her life was alive. That had to be a lot.

The love of her life.

And the father of her child.

Andy.

Addison looked down to the boy who was cowering behind his mother.

"Hey, Nate, Andy, why don't we go to the cafeteria for some chicken nuggets. How does that sound?"

Both boys looked up to Addison and nodded, loving the idea of chicken nuggets and getting to spend more time together.

Teddy didn't even flinch, not even at the sound of Addison's voice, nor at the fact that her son had left her side.

She was still in shock.

"Teddy, I… I don't know where to start… I'm sorry for just showing up like this, it was a bad idea, it was stupid, I wasn't thinking straight, I…" Owen trailed off, not sure what to say.

"Owen…" she said again, the tears flowing freely now.

She reached up and rested her hand against his cheek, needing to touch him, to confirm that this was real.

As soon as her palm made contact with his cheek, a smile broke out on her face. "You're… you're real… You're alive…"

Owen nodded, smiling in turn. "Yes, I am, and I'm sorry for not getting here sooner, I just –"

He stopped mid-sentence when Teddy wrapped her arms around him, holding him tightly. It took him a few seconds to react, but he too wrapped his arms around her and held on tightly, never wanting to let go.

They stood like this in silence for a few moments, Teddy sobbing into his shoulder. It was so surreal, yet she knew that this was really happening, that it wasn't her mind playing tricks on her.

They eventually pulled apart, and Teddy just took him all in.

"I thought you were dead… They told me you were dead…"

Owen shook his head. "I was, kind of, for a while… I… I was in a coma, in a hospital in France."

"France? How did you get to France?"

"I… well, what the doctors told me is that I was found by a patrol crew from a small local community. They brought me back to their clinic where they had a doctor from Doctors Without Borders. He knew I wasn't local so he figured I was a peacekeeper or a volunteer with a European organization. I was in critical condition, so they flew me to Paris and submitted me as a John Doe. All my identification was gone. I don't remember what happened to it, and the doctors couldn't tell me since it was gone long before I arrived at the clinic, let alone the hospital. I was… I was in a coma for 3 years…"

Teddy gasped. "Three… three years?"

Owen nodded. "Since I hadn't been identified, they couldn't stop treatment. They had hope since I was healing well, and knew that the trauma could be the cause of the lengthy recovery. They let me heal.

"I was in rough shape when I woke up. It took me several months before I could eat real food, and then even longer in order to walk and talk like a human. I didn't know anything when I first woke up, I was lost and confused and didn't even know my own name… I eventually got all my memory back and have been getting better each passing day.

"I was released a week ago. And now I am here, because the moment I knew who I was, I knew that I needed to find you."

"Owen…"

"Teddy, I love you, and I understand that it's been years and that I was dead but I couldn't let you go without at least trying, and so here I am.

"I wanted to call you as soon as everything had become clear, but the doctors didn't allow me. I was in no state to handle an emotion filled phone call with a woman who probably wouldn't even believe me. When they released me, I thought about calling you again, but I figured you'd have less hard of a time believing it if I just showed up. You'd have to accept it. So here I am."

Teddy took it all in, every unbelievable second of it and couldn't wrap her brain around it. She believed every word, he was so sincere and he didn't have a reason to lie. He was the one who came to her after all. It just felt like a really crazy dream and that she'd suddenly wake up, drenched in sweat from the agitation it would cause.

But there was no waking up from this one.

This was real.

She smiled again.

"Owen, I love you too. I never stopped loving you. I had hope for so long, I didn't give up, but…"

"But…?"

Teddy hesitated. "Owen…"

"You… you met someone? It's okay if you did. I mean, I expected it, and honestly hoped you did because I didn't want you to be alone, I just –"

"Owen, I didn't meet anyone, not really… But I haven't been alone."

Owen then remembered the little boys that Addison had taken to get chicken nuggets. One of them had been hiding behind Teddy.

"You have a son… A little boy, that was him standing behind you, wasn't it?"

Teddy watched as Owen's thoughts played out on his face. He sunk down into the chair beside him and his eyes suddenly shot up.

"His hair… His hair is red… He… We…"

Teddy sat down beside him and took his hand in hers. "We have a son Owen."

It took a few seconds for it to register in Owen's brain what Teddy had just revealed, and as soon as it did, he burst into tears.

"We… A little boy… I… I don't know if these are tears of joy from the happiness radiating through me or tears of sadness for all this lost time…"

Teddy rubbed his fingers with hers, their hands still intertwined. "Owen, it isn't your fault. You didn't leave us by choice…"

Owen shook his head. "I still missed so much… I… I want… Can I be a part… I want to meet him, get to know him… I want to be a part of his life… Can I? Is that okay?"

Teddy smiled, a smile she hadn't smiled in years. "It's more than okay. I want you to get to know him. I want you to be his dad."

Owen smiled, finally. "I'm a dad."

Teddy giggled. "You're a dad. And you're alive."

Owen nodded. "I'm alive. What's… what's his name?"

"Hunter Anderson Altman, but everyone calls him Andy."

Owen's eyes turned back to sad. "Hunter…"

Teddy returned to rubbing his fingers. "Yes, Hunter was for you. I thought… I thought it would help, keep you alive in him somehow, but everyone, including me, saw how much it hurt. We quickly referred to him more and more as Anderson and eventually Andy. And now, Andy is all he ever goes by."

They looked up when they saw that Addison and the boys were coming back towards them, a juice box in each of the boys' hands and satisfied smiles on their faces.

"He looks like you," Owen pointed out.

Teddy nodded and smiled as she kept her gaze fixed on her little boy. "That's what everyone says. He's definitely got your hair though, and his smile, god, his smile is all you. You'll see."

Owen nodded slowly as they stood up to greet their oncoming guests.

"They're all fed and absolutely thrilled to have gotten the chance to tell me their entire day."

They both nodded as they kept drinking their juice boxes.

Addison looked back and forth between the two people in front of her and noticed just how relaxed they were. _It must have went extremely well,_ she thought to herself.

"I was going to offer that I take Andy for the n-i-g-h-t, if you'd like more time to talk," she volunteered. "The offer still stands, even though you guys seem good."

Teddy turned to Owen. "Where are you staying?"

"I'm planning on just checking into a hotel. I thought of asking Derek about the trailer, but then decided it wasn't worth it." He laughed.

"You're welcome to stay with us if you'd like," Teddy stated, not wanting Owen to be alone at a time like this. "We've got a spare bedroom that is always ready for a visitor."

Teddy then got down to eye level with her son. "Hey Andy, would you like to stay at Nathaniel's tonight or do you want to come home with Mommy and Mr. Owen?"

Andy looked up to Owen. He smiled. "My mummy has picture of you with the money."

Owen gave him a puzzled look. "That's funny. Why do you think I'm there?"

The little boy shrugged with exaggeration and Teddy smiled as Owen and Andy bonded. "I think it's because she likes you!"

Owen looked up at Teddy and laughed. "Oh yeah?"

"Maybe," Teddy said with a smile, and a twinkling in her eye. Addison couldn't help but smile too as she watched her friend come back to life after several years of sadness. It was an incredible transformation.

It was then decided that Andy was going to go home with his mom and Owen, and Addison watched them go, Andy chatting up Owen as if he knew exactly who this man was. Kids were smart, and maybe he did.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

"Supper was delicious, as always," Richard said as he brought out tea for him and Adele. He set down the tray on the coffee table, took a seat next to her on the couch, and planted a little kiss on his wife's forehead. She smiled at the touch.

"Thank you. It's always great to have all these extra house guests. It inspires me to cook a proper meal."

Richard laughed. "A proper meal? You've always done a pretty good job at feeding me every night that I'm home. I think all your meals could qualify as proper. But I guess that's just one man's opinion."

They both let out a little laugh, and Adele leaned into Richard's open embrace. They stayed quiet for a few moments, simply enjoying each other's company.

"You know, having all these young, madly in love couples around all the time reminds me of us when we were that young," Adele said quietly.

"Are you saying that we're old? I'd prefer mature, or seasoned," Richard said with lightness in his voice.

Adele smiled at her husband's antics. "No Richard, what I'm saying is that we've been able to go back to that couple we were in college these past few years because we are reminded by all the young people what love is truly all about. They helped me get back to who I was when I met you, and I feel like they did the same to you… We may have had a few rough years, well, a lot of rough years, but I'm glad we didn't completely give up on each other. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else but here with you, living the life we have been blessed with in our golden days."

Richard was touched by his wife's words, and tears had started to collect. He smiled at the final term Adele used to describe their age range and held her tighter.

"I love you, so much," he whispered, dropping another kiss to her head and running his hands up and down her back.

"Me too Richard, me too."

They stayed quiet for another few seconds, and realized that their tea was probably getting cold. They set themselves up comfortably, and drank their tea in each other's company.

"May I ask…" Richard started, hesitantly. "What, what brought this all up?"

Adele shrugged. "At first, it was just the fact that we've been surrounded by all this love. All these young couples not only love their other halves, but their kids, their friends and even us. And our grandkids… God, Richard we have grandkids! I never thought we'd have kids, let alone grandkids, and now we have more than we know what to do with. It's amazing… But then today, when Miranda told us… It reminded me of all the struggles we have to go through. She's got amazing people there to support her, and an amazing man at her side. I just… I just want you to know that that's what I want, if ever anything happened to me, and that's what I would give you if ever anything happened to you."

Richard nodded and took Adele's empty hand in his. "I understand, and I hope that we'll never be put in that position, but I know it's bound to happen someday and I'm glad I've got such an amazing woman by my side if ever it does. As for Miranda, we just have to keep reminding her that we're there and she'll make it through this just fine too."

"She's a strong woman. I have faith that she'll be just fine."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

"This is all your fault!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

Meredith woke up to the sound of two little voices coming from the top of the stairs arguing about who knows what. She slowly got out of bed, glanced at the clock on her bedside table, and groaned when it said 5:34. She left her room and made it up the stairs, only to find the kids both in the bathroom, standing in front of the toilet.

"Good morning," she said from the doorway.

They both turned towards her, guilty looks on their faces.

"It was Keegan!" Kelsey burst out, before Meredith even asked what is was that had them arguing in the bathroom at this hour of the morning.

"Was not!" Keegan argued. "Kelsey pushed me!"

"Did not!" Kelsey argued.

"Did too!"

Meredith shook her head, but decided to put an end to their argument. "What happened?"

Both kids stayed quiet for a few seconds, before Kelsey spoke up.

"I needed to pee, so I came to the bathroom – "

"But I was here first!"

"Because your room is closer and you ran!"

"So?"

Meredith sighed. "Kelsey, keep going."

"I really needed to pee and Keegan wouldn't let me so –"

"So you pushed me!"

Kelsey rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well you're the one who made mommy's phone fall in the toilet."

Keegan's eyes filled with tears. "I didn't mean to…"

It was at the mention of her phone that Meredith approached the toilet looked in. Like Kelsey had said, the phone was at the bottom.

"Crap," she mumbled under her breath. She looked back at her kids. "It's okay, it was an accident. It's mommy's fault for having left her phone in the bathroom, where it shouldn't be. But I don't want any more pushing for the bathroom. There's a bathroom in mommy's room too and one of you can come use it if the other is in here, okay?"

Both kids nodded.

Kelsey ran off, down the stairs, probably to go use the bathroom since she really did seem to need to pee. Meredith noticed how quiet Keegan had gotten and watched as a tear rolled down his cheek.

"Hey baby, it's okay," Meredith said as she kneeled in front of him. "It's not the end of the world."

Keegan nodded and wrapped his arms around his mother's neck. "I'm sorry."

"Shhh… It's okay sweetie, it's okay."

Once they pulled apart, Keegan ran off too, and Meredith was left to recover her phone.

Two hours later, her phone in a bowl of rice and the kids eating breakfast, things had finally settled down enough for her to change out of her PJ's. She left the kids eating at the island and made her way to her room.

Suddenly, she heard the doorbell ring and she rushed to finish getting dressed, hoping the kids would wait until she got out. Her heart raced at the thought of it maybe being Derek, ringing to make it more of a surprise. But her heart dropped at the thought of it being a stranger and that one of her four year olds was probably opening the door at that very moment.

She opened her bedroom door, all while pulling on her shirt and heard the excited squeals coming from the foyer.

_It couldn't be_.

She turned the corner and was surprised when she found Carolyn standing in the doorway.

"Mom!"

Carolyn looked up and smiled. "Hi sweetie."

Meredith smiled brightly and she too got her hug from the woman she now saw as being her mother.

"What are you doing here?"

Carolyn laughed. "It's quite the story. It may take a few minutes."

Meredith nodded and took her bags from her. The kids headed back to the kitchen, their grandmother at their side as they told story after story of all the things that had happened.

"That would explain why you didn't answer when I called this morning from the airport," Carolyn said with a laugh after the kids had told her the events of that morning.

Meredith laughed. "Yeah… I'm trying to see if I can save it, but I don't think I will. Now, why don't you tell me this story of how you got here?"

Carolyn smiled and nodded. "Tessa's class was doing a fundraiser at school for her class trip at the end of the year. They were selling tickets for a money tree, you know, a little tree with a whole bunch of those little lottery games on it? Of course, me being grandma, I had to buy a few tickets. And for once in my life, I actually won!"

Meredith laughed.

Carolyn continued. "So Natalie was showing me how to do the scratch and win ones yesterday and I ended up winning 20,000 dollars on one of the tickets. We went in to the corner store and they confirmed it so they wrote me a check and all of a sudden I'm 20,000 dollars richer.

"I had no idea what to do with all this money, so Natalie asked me if there was one thing I could buy or do, what would it be? And the first thing I could think of was all my grandkids and how much I wish I could see them more often. So, I bought the first ticket to here and here I am!"

Meredith wanted to laugh. Carolyn wasn't the type for spontaneity, except for when someone in her family was in need. But for her to do something for herself like this, that took Meredith by surprise.

"I can't believe you came out all this way, and so quickly," Meredith was still getting over the shock. "But I'm glad that you are here!"

At this point, the kids were both gone, fighting over which show they would watch while they waited for their mom to finish getting everything ready for the day. Carolyn watched Meredith clean up the breakfast dishes, pack lunches, check her emails and go over her schedule for the day, but quickly cut in.

"Meredith hunny, I've got the dishes and don't bother with the lunches. They're not going to daycare today, that's just plain silly. I've got them all handled, you just take care of yourself."

Meredith took a momentary pause. "Are you sure? I mean, you just got here from an overnight flight and must be exhausted and I don't want to –"

Carolyn cut her off. "I don't feel nearly as tired as you look darling." She hesitated before continuing, but not for long. "Are you feeling alright?"

Meredith was about to answer with the classic "I'm fine," but she knew better. "I'm exhausted. I don't know how single moms do it. I don't know how you did it. I thought I could handle being alone with the kids for four months and that it wouldn't change much, but I guess I was wrong. I'm so glad you're here, and don't get me wrong, I love having you here, but I can't wait for Derek to get home and for things to go back to normal."

Carolyn gave her a sympathetic look. "Oh Meredith." She looked down at her watch. "At what time do you start work?"

Meredith in turn checked the clock. "I'm only due to be in at 11 but I have some things I need to pick up before –"

Carolyn cut her off yet again. "Put everything down and come sit with me for a few minutes okay?"

"But I need – " Meredith tried to argue.

Carolyn wasn't taking any of Meredith's excuses. "Whatever you need to do, I can help you with. That's why I am here."

Meredith shook her head. "No, you are here for your grandkids, you said it yourself."

Carolyn smiled. "I'm here for all of you, but if you want to throw that one back in my face, then I can argue back with the fact that in order to be here for _all _of my grandbabies, I need to take special care of you since you are currently carrying the newest addition." She rested her hand on Meredith's belly. "Now will you come sit with me?"

Meredith gave in, knowing she was never going to win this battle, and, frankly, not really wanting to. They made their way to the living room and took a seat on the couch.

"Meredith, you say that you didn't think it would be this difficult playing the single mom for four months without Derek and that you know differently now, but you have to keep in mind that when you gave Derek the OK and told yourself you could do it, you didn't know that you'd be five months pregnant when he got home. That takes a lot out of anyone, let alone someone who's alone with two four year olds and has the medical history you have when it comes to pregnancy. Had the circumstances been different, you would have been just fine. But the circumstances are what they are, and although I am very happy with them, they made things much different than what you had expected. You are the strongest person I know Meredith for having done everything you have done and been through everything you have been through and still be standing. I idolize you."

Meredith laughed. "You idolize me? I idolize you Carolyn! You're my role model when it comes to everything now. Not just the parenting things. I want to be just like you, be the magnificent woman that you are."

Carolyn smiled and shook her head. "You can't Meredith because you are already so much better."

"I –"

Carolyn cut her off, again. "I don't want to hear you. You are amazing and I am so lucky to have such an amazing daughter-in-law like you by my little boy's side. Thank you for being you."

Meredith smiled. "And thank you for being you."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Teddy pulled into the parking lot of the hospital with a smile on her face, a real smile, for the first time in forever. She and Owen had stayed up late the night before talking about everything and anything and what it meant for the two of them. They decided they would take things slowly, but that there was no way in hell they were letting each other go ever again. And Andy loved him already. Owen had played games with him until it was time for bed and the little boy asked Owen to read him a bedtime story. Fighting back the tears, Owen agreed and Andy's face lit up. They hadn't yet told him that Owen was his father, but Teddy felt like her son was starting to put piece together.

She got out of her car and immediately spotted Arizona getting out of her car across the lane. Teddy waved and Arizona headed towards her.

"Hey, you look happy this morning!" Arizona immediately picked up on Teddy's overall appearance and didn't think she had seen her this happy since Andy's birth.

"It's because I am," Teddy commented with a smile. They started heading towards the hospital doors.

"That's good," Arizona commented, although what she really wanted to know was why Teddy was smiling again.

That's when she noticed the missing little boy.

"Where's Andy this morning?"

Teddy's smile grew ten times bigger. "Oh, I don't think you'd believe me if I told you."

Arizona raised her eyebrows. "I-"

At that very moment, both of their pages beeped and they took they few last steps into the building a little faster.

"I'll tell you later," Teddy called over her shoulder before rushing to get to the ER.

Arizona sighed. "Fine."

_I'll_ _figure out what's going on_ Arizona thought to herself as she watched Teddy run off.

Teddy just smiled.


	10. Addie Always Knows

As soon as Meredith arrived at the hospital, she was rushed into an emergency surgery with one of the victims from the high school field trip. Twenty-eight students, two chaperones and their bus driver were currently all admitted from the crash that had occurred earlier that morning. The bus had gone down a deep ditch when it met a transfer truck coming around a corner a little too fast and a little too over the line. The transfer truck driver sat in the lobby of the hospital, hoping for news. He was guilty and he knew it, and he wanted to be there when the parents started to arrive so he could explain to them that it was his fault, and that he was sorry. He was altogether a good man who had just been in a tough situation.

Most of the patients simply needed a few stitches. There were a few broken bones too, but most were manageable. The bus driver, and two kids were the only ones that needed surgery, and even then, they weren't so bad. Meredith couldn't believe how lucky these kids had been to have a bus driver with such an instinct. Had they have collided with the truck, it would've been a much worse.

"You did a very good job Sir," Meredith told her unconscious patient, the bus driver, before beginning to treat his head wounds. The surgery had had its ups and downs, but she had managed. She was almost done when her pager went off.

"Dr Shepherd? It's your patient from yesterday. Julia Monroe."

"Shit," Meredith mumbled under her breath. She looked up at the resident assisting her. "Are you okay to finish up?"

The resident nodded and Meredith rushed out. Nurses were already prepping Julia for an emergency surgery in the OR across the hall. She scrubbed in quickly and made her way into the room.

"Here we go."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

"Addie!"

Addison smiled as soon as she heard the voice. She turned around and came face to face with one excited expression.

Samantha put out her left hand. "He proposed!"

Addison laughed. "Congratulations and welcome to the family!"

Samantha laughed along. "I couldn't believe it Addie! I feel like the luckiest girl on the planet."

"I know the feeling."

Samantha gave Addie a once over. "You don't look surprised."

Addie smiled. "It's because I'm not."

Samantha gave her a shocked look. "You knew?"

Addie simply kept smiling.

"How did you know?"

"Samantha sweetie. The family needed to approve of you before we let Mike marry some girl he picked up at a bar. I mean, what kind of sister-in-law would I be if I didn't make sure that this chick's intentions weren't honorable?"

Samantha rolled her eyes. "Addison…"

Addie laughed. "Mike needed help to pick out a ring so he came to me. Of course the family approves of you!"

"I just can't get over it… It was amazing. We were having supper at this fancy little restaurant at the resort and all of a sudden, the chef came out with a little heart shaped red-velvet cupcake, gave me a smile and told me that this cake was made with love. Turns out that while I was getting ready for supper, he went down to the kitchen and made the cupcake with the chef's help. While Mike was splitting it, something shiny in the cake caught my eye and as soon as he saw me notice it, he pulled out the ring and smirked. He said something along the lines, I wonder how that got in there, then got down on one knee and…" Samantha drifted off, but Addison knew the end of the story. "I… just can't…"

Addison giggled. "Yup, you're pretty special for a girl from a bar."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

"All of them went down without any trouble," Carolyn said as she made her way back into the living room.

Lexie smiled. "God, did I ever tell you how much we love having you around?"

Carolyn laughed. "And I love being around."

Carolyn had spent a part of the morning at home with Kelsey and Keegan, doing anything she could to help out around the house. She knew that Meredith wouldn't be happy with her when she found out that she had cleaned the kitchen, the bathrooms and the kids' rooms, plus done the dishes and the laundry, but Carolyn didn't care. She then went into the hospital to visit Amy and Alyssa, who were not expecting her. Alyssa was being released, and Amy was then going to take her home. Carolyn promised she'd go visit the other kids when they got home from school.

While at the hospital, she had run into to Mark who mentioned that Lexie was home with the kids today and that he was sure she'd love the company. She headed to Lexie and Mark's with Kelsey and Keegan and surprised Lexie with her arrival, just like she had surprised everyone else. The kids had spent the rest of the morning playing games with their grandmother while Lexie watched on smiling.

"So how have things been around here since Christmas?" Carolyn asked, sipping her tea.

"Things have been good. Busy, what with Mark being chief and all, but good," Lexie answered, smiling.

Carolyn gave her a look. "It hasn't been too much on you, having Mark so busy all of a sudden?"

Lexie shook her head. "No, actually it's been really good."

Carolyn gave her a skeptical look and Lexie laughed.

"I'm being 100% honest here, I promise." She took a breath. "When Mark was going through his rough patch, I didn't think he'd ever be back to himself. I thought I had lost him for good… But seeing him today, running an entire hospital? That's confirmation that he's back to himself and I can't even describe how amazing that feels. It's… amazing."

Carolyn nodded. "I understand now. Mark's been one lucky man to go through what he went through and be where he is today. I was sure we had lost him, all those years ago… Every day, I thank God for everything he has done to keep my children and grandchildren safe, but every thanksgiving, I spend a little more time on Mark."

Lexie nodded. "I know exactly what you mean. Thanksgiving has a really special meaning to us now, more special than any other holiday I think. I will forever be grateful."

The both sipped their coffees quietly before Lexie spoke up again, a giggle in her voice. "So how's my dad doing?"

Carolyn rolled her eyes. "Lexie…"

Lexie smirked. "When he got that job working in the rehab facility in New York, I knew it wasn't a coincidence. So come on, spill the beans."

Carolyn smiled. "He comes over for supper every second Sunday and we have wonderful conversations about our amazing children, nothing more."

Lexie sighed. "Man, I was really hoping for something juicy. This is just disappointing."

Carolyn chuckled. "I'm sorry to disappoint. Besides, don't you think you and Meredith and Mark and Derek would feel awkward if there was something going on between your parents? Wouldn't that kind of be like… Step-incest?"

Lexie gave her a funny look. "Step-incest?"

"You know, because if ever something did happen between your father and I – and I'm not saying anything ever will, but _if _something did - you and Mark, and Meredith and Derek, would end up step-siblings. Isn't that just… too weird?

Lexie smirked. "If it's love it's love, and nothing can stop love from being."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

"Is it just me, or has Teddy been in a really, really good mood today?"

Mark set his tray down next to Arizona's, and looked around at Richard, Addison and Alex to gage their reactions.

"I know, right?" Arizona said. "This morning, I ran into her and I swear she was whistling."

Alex nodded. "She keeps looking at her phone and smiling."

Richard pointed to Alex. "I saw it too! Except she wasn't just smiling, she was laughing and blushing! Blushing!"

"And," Arizona interjected, "she came to work this morning without Andy. Where's Andy?"

"Do you think she found a man and just hasn't told anyone?" Mark asked, looking around the table.

Alex shrugged. "I don't know, but it sounds like the only reasonable explanation."

Mark looked over to Addie. "What's your take on this?"

Addie shook her head. "I think it's none of our business. What a bunch of gossips!"

"You know something!" Mark exclaimed. "Who am I kidding, Addie always knows all the good gossip."

"I agree with you on that one," Richard stated, "but only because all the good gossip has always had to do with who's pregnant these past few years. This on the other hand…"

"Unless Teddy's pregnant!" Arizona exclaimed quietly.

Alex rolled his eyes. "Which means that she must have a man in her life, obviously."

Addison crossed her arms over her chest. "You guys should be ashamed of yourselves. The nurses are the gossips, not you guys. Leave the poor woman alone!"

They were quiet for a few moments, then Alex spoke up. "Mark, you're right. Dr. Montgomery here definitely knows something.

Addison let out a puff, but sat up straight when she spotted the person in question heading their way.

"Hey guys," Teddy said, a smile gracing her face. "Mind if I join in?"

Everyone shared a look and immediately invited the doctor to join them.

"So what was all the excitement about? I could see you guys were having quite the discussion from across the cafeteria. Must have been good, heh?"

Everyone stayed quiet, earning and eye roll from Addison.

Teddy smirked and looked towards Addison. "Let me guess, it resembles Jackson and Cristina's conversation that we happened to overhear in the ER this morning, am I right?"

Addison laughed. "Yes, but so much better."

Teddy looked around the table, leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm not surprised. Let's hear it! Come on, ask your questions!"

Addison had a hard time holding back her laughter. After just one evening with Owen, Teddy had turned back into the fun-loving, happy and teasing woman she had first met years ago. She couldn't get over the transformation and understood why everyone was so interested in finding out what the hell was going on.

Arizona leaned forward. "This morning, when I ran into you, you told me you'd explain this good mood thing later. Well, it's later, so spill!"

Teddy smirked. She was about to say something when her phone rang. She looked down to the caller ID and smiled. "I have to take this. I promise, it won't be long, and then you'll all get the answer you're looking for."

Everyone watched as she answered, and as much as they hated to admit it, they listened in while she talked.

"Hey… I'm actually just eating lunch… Yeah, in the cafeteria… Of course! But I'm warning you, I'm sitting with a gang of gossips, so don't expect it to be a calm lunch… Okay, see you soon… I love you too."

She hung up and gave everyone a look. "Where was I?"

Arizona squealed. "You said I love you! It's a man, isn't it? Is it someone we know? Someone from the hospital? How could you not have told us anything?"

Mark shook his head. "I'm hurt Teddy. I thought we were friends?" he said feigning his hurt.

Teddy and Addison just shared a knowing glance.

"I told you guys that Addie knew!" Mark exclaimed. "Look at the two of them! You told Addie, but not me?"

Teddy signaled for them to quiet down. "Let's just say I haven't been given very much time to tell much of anything to anyone…"

Just then, a little flying ball of energy landed in her lap, looking up at her with the eyes of a kid who had just spent the best day of his life.

"Mommy, mommy! You missed the best day ever! I had pancakes for breakfast and then watched cartoons in a fort that Mister Owen helped me make and then…"

He kept talking but everyone around the table stopped hearing the little boy's excited ramble after M. Owen.

"Did he just say…" Mark started.

"… Owen?" Richard finished.

They all watched as Teddy looked up over their heads and smiled. "You have great timing you know."

Everyone turned in their seats and went silent at the sight in front of them.

"I can see that," Owen answered with a smile. "Hi everyone."

The silent shock didn't last very long. It broke as soon as Mark got up and exclaimed "What the hell?" all while giving the man a hug. When he pulled away, he looked Owen in the eye. "Aren't you supposed to be like… dead?"

Owen pulled up a seat and started re-explaining what had happened to him, much in the same way he had told Teddy the night before.

"Betcha none of you had come up with that theory for my good mood, heh?" Teddy asked with a laugh.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

"It's good to be off of my feet," Cristina said as she settled on the hospital bed. She and Jackson had been on call, so when the victims of the accident had come in, the hospital had needed the extra hands. But things had begun to settle down, so they figured they could escape the busyness of the ER.

"I can just imagine", Addison said, preparing the ultra-sound machine.

"I saw Carolyn Shepherd this morning. Haven't gotten the chance to talk to Meredith, but she was wandering around with the twins. Wonder what she's doing in town. Maybe Derek is on his way, and they want to surprise everyone or something."

Addison smiled. "That would be nice, wouldn't it?"

"'Mommy!"

Cristina didn't get the chance to agree with Addison. Jessica, her favorite teddy bear in one hand, rushed into the room, followed by a smiling Jackson.

"Hi sweetie. Are you ready to meet your little brother or little sister?"

Jessica went wide eyed. "Is she here? Where is she?"

Jackson picked the little girl up and set her down on the edge of her mother's bed. "Jessie, we talked about this…"

She nodded. "I know, the baby could be a little brother. I just can't wait to have someone to play with!"

Jackson and Cristina smiled. Their little girl could sometimes be shy around her friends, but she always got talkative when she was with her parents.

"And no, the baby isn't here yet," Addison replied to Jessica's unanswered question. "But we're going to get to see a picture of him or her, and your mommy and daddy thought you'd like to be here."

"And," Cristina started, "we're going to find out if you're going to have a little brother or a little sister!"

Jessica smiled. "Okay!"

Jackson gave his daughter a kiss on the forehead as Addison started to prep her patient.

"What's the blue stuff?" Jessica asked.

Addison smiled. "It's to help see the baby in your mommy's belly."

Jessica scrunched up her nose. "How?"

The three doctors exchanged looks. Jackson was the first to come up with an answer. "It has special powers, just like your fairies do to see through the walls of the palace."

Jessica went wide eyed. "Wow. Can I have some?"

Addison laughed. "Okay, just a little bit." She squeezed a tiny bit of the gel into Jessica's hand. It kept the little girl entertained while Addison continued Cristina's ultrasound.

"Would you like to see your little brother?" Addie asked, smiling at three faces that looked up at her excitedly.

"It's a boy?" Jackson asked, smiling.

Addie nodded. "It's a little boy."

Cristina and Jackson shared a smile while Addie started explaining to Jessica what was on the screen. "Here are his feet, and those are his toes. And here are his arms and his hands. And that's his head…"

Jessica stared wide eyed. "He's really inside of mommy?"

Addison giggled and nodded. "Yes he is."

Jessica turned around quickly and looked at her mother. "I thought you were being funny! How did he get in there?"

They all laughed. Cristina took her daughter's hand. "He was created in my tummy. This is like his very first bedroom."

Jessica couldn't get over everything she was learning. "Was I in your tummy?"

Jackson nodded. "Yes you were."

Jessica looked up at Addie. "Are they telling the truth?"

Addison laughed. "They are hunny. All babies come from their mommy's tummies."

Jessica looked at her tummy then looked back up at Addison. "Does that mean I'll have a baby in my tummy one day?"

Addison nodded. "Maybe someday."

Jackson cleared his throat. "But not before you're 40."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

"How are you doing?"

Miranda was laying in her hospital bed. She didn't like being the one on the table. She was so used to being the one leaning over it, not the one on it. This just wasn't right.

"I'm fine," she answered.

Ben could tell that she wasn't. He took her hand in his. "You don't have to pretend with me Miranda, you know that."

She sighed and finally looked at him. "I know, I'm sorry. I… I hate this."

Ben nodded and rubbed her hand. "I know, it sucks. But hopefully everything will go well today and you can get the other treatments done quickly and everything will be over sooner than you know it."

Miranda nodded.

Ben wasn't used to her being this quiet and so inside of her shell. But ever since her diagnosis, she had gone into herself and wasn't the same bright and happy person he had come to know and love over the past half a dozen years. This wasn't his Miranda Bailey. He wanted his Miranda Bailey back.

"Can I come in?"

They both looked up and Ben watched as a small smile built on Miranda's lips at the sight of their guest.

"Of course Izzie."

Izzie had the day off and knew exactly where she needed to be. She was going to be in the exact same spot Miranda had been in for her all those years ago. To this day, Izzie smiled every time she spotted Miranda wearing the scarf she had knitted. She wanted to be there for her mentor, for her friend, and she was glad that she had come to her the night before to let her in.

"I hope you don't mind. I asked Ben when –"

Miranda cut her off. "Don't be silly Izzie. I'm glad you're here."

Izzie smiled. "I'm glad. I wanted to make sure you weren't going through this alone." She looked up at Ben. "I should have known better."

Miranda looked up at Ben too. "Yeah, I'm a pretty lucky girl, aren't I?"

Both women laughed.

Ben was just happy to see Miranda's spirits lighten.

He watched the two woman interact and it was that moment that he realized that Miranda had found the one person she needed most throughout this whole ordeal.

He was glad she had Izzie.

Just like Izzie had been glad that she had had Miranda.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

"I think she took that really well," Jackson said with a smile.

Cristina laughed. "She didn't once say anything about how she was having a little brother instead of a little sister. Either she didn't notice, or she's still just overwhelmed about how there's a baby in my tummy."

Jackson laughed as he watched the little girl in question walk ahead of them, a little skip in her step. She knew her way around the hospital like she owned the place and loved to wave and smile to everyone on her way. She had been shy in the beginning, but the older she got, the more that shyness started to disappear, especially around adults. They had noticed a significant change since the day they told her she was going to be a big sister. They were happy with this transformation, knowing that she would make a great big sister.

"I think things will be just fine."

They went quiet as they watched Jessica tell everyone she walked past that she was going to have a little brother. Jackson and Cristina just smiled, knowing that the whole hospital would know before the end of the day.

"Andy! Guess what!"

Jessica had spotted the little boy before Cristina and Jackson had a chance to catch up with her, and the little girl was around the corner, most likely wanting to go tell the little boy everything.

"I'll get her, you take your time," Jackson said before racing after the little girl.

"I'll catch up!" Cristina called out as she continued forward at a slower pace, taking in the wave of congratulations that followed in Jessica's wake.

Jackson finally caught up to the little girl but stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the scene unfold before him.

"I'm going to have a little brother!" Jessica said to Andy. She then looked up. "Who are you?" she asked the man that was with her friend.

Owen hadn't had the chance to answer. "This is Mister Owen! He's my mommy's friend."

Owen smiled at the young girl. "That's pretty exciting news. But where are your mommy and daddy?"

"They're coming," she said as she pointed behind her.

Owen looked up and found Jackson with his shell shocked expression.

"O…Owen?"

Owen stood up, then looked at the little girl in front of him. "Yours I take it?" he said with a smile.

Jackson nodded. "Yes… I…"

Owen laughed. "I'm getting used to that reaction today."

"Jackson? Are you alright?"

Owen's smile grew bigger when Cristina came into view.

"Cristina Yang, a mom… Who would have thought?"

Cristina's head shot up at the sound of the very familiar voice.

"Owen?" she said, sporting the same expression as Jackson.

"Cristina," he said, still smiling. "It's good to see you."

Cristina scrunched her eyebrows. "It's good to see you too considering last I heard you were…"

"Not alive?"

Cristina nodded. "Yeah, that's what the rumour around this place was."

Owen nodded. "So I've heard."

Jackson watched as Cristina and Owen exchanged words and, once the shock of Owen being there wore off, he noted just how happy Owen looked, especially when he shot a look at the little boy now sitting on the floor with his daughter.

"It's good to see that the rumors aren't true," Jackson finally spoke up, giving the man a smile.

Owen smiled back, happy that this whole conversation wasn't uncomfortable for anyone. "Teddy has brought me up to date with everything. Including telling me about all the weddings that have happened and all of the kids that are now in the picture. Congratulations, both of you, for everything."

Cristina and Jackson shared a look and smiled. "Thanks."

"So, your daughter here tells me that she's going to be big sister," Owen said with a smile towards the young girl. "That's pretty exciting, isn't it?"

Jessica nodded. "It is! Do you have any kids Mister Owen?"

They watched Owen's expression change and Cristina and Jackson figured Andy didn't know everything about "Mister Owen" yet.

"Jessica hunny, we need to get home for supper. Come on."

They said quick goodbyes, promising they would catch up at some later point in time and headed off in separate directions.

"Wow, talk about miracles."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Today was just not Meredith's day. She hadn't seen the outside of the ORs since she had pretty much stepped foot into the building and figured it would be a while before she ever did. She was in the middle of Julia's surgery when she got another page.

"Dr. Shepherd, it's your patient from this morning, Henry Davis, the bus driver? There's been some complications and they're rushing him back into surgery. Do I tell them to call Dr. Lewis?"

Meredith nodded. "Yes, I'll still be here for at least another hour. Damn! Why is everything going wrong today?"

The nurse gave Meredith a sympathetic smile before giving the nurses station the message to page Dr. Lewis.

"Let's go Julia, this time it better work!"

An hour and a half later, Meredith was finally out of surgery and heading towards the washroom before going to check in on her other patient who seemed to still be in surgery. She hoped everything was going well and that Dr. Lewis was able to help the man who had saved the lives of so many innocent kids.

"Dr. Shepherd." She looked up at Malcolm Lewis as she passed him in the hall and stopped in her tracks. "How's your patient?"

Meredith let out a breath of relief. "She's fine. Just got out."

Malcolm gave her a weird look. "She?"

Meredith nodded. "Yes… Julia Monroe. Aren't you supposed to be in surgery right now?"

Lewis shook his head. "I thought you had the bus driver?"

Meredith shook her head. "I did this morning, but then Julia… I thought you had the bus driver?"

Malcolm gave her a confused look. "I got the page, but by the time I had arrived at the nurses' station, they told me that you had taken the patient."

Meredith went wide eyed. "If you're not in the OR with my patient, than who the hell is?"

She forgot about her bladder and rushed towards OR 3. She grabbed a mask and put it over her face before barging into the OR.

"Who the hell are you and what are you doing with my patient."

The man let out a relaxed laugh.

Meredith went still.

"Technically, it's not stealing. They did ask for Dr. Shepherd."

**Hehee guess who? (:**


	11. Home Sweet Home

**Hey everyone! So this is the second last chapter for this story... I know, it's a lot shorter than Ever Ever After, but the whole story was meant to lead up to Derek's return, so after that, I don't have much more to say... That is, for this story! There is a third and final part to this trilogy and I've already started writing it. It focuses a lot more on the Seattle Grace kids and their lives, all while keeping up with our favorite characters. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and I'll try to get the last one up in not too long. **

**Enjoy! **

"_Who the hell are you and what are you doing with my patient."_

_The man let out a relaxed laugh. _

_Meredith went still. _

"_Technically, it's not stealing. They did ask for Dr. Shepherd."_

Everyone in the OR looked to Meredith's shocked expression. Most of them had smiles under their masks, Meredith could tell by the crinkles around their eyes. She knew what was going on, but she couldn't believe it.

"And, I'm done here. Can you close up for me Dr. Harris?"

The resident nodded.

Meredith's breathe caught in her throat when the not so mystery man turned around and confirmed what she already knew.

"Derek…"

Derek smiled. "I'm home."

A huge smile broke out on her face and she wanted to throw herself into his arms, but then something hit her.

She was pregnant.

And she didn't know whether Derek knew or not.

She looked down to her stomach very quickly to see how noticeable it was, and figured it would be tough for him to figure it out by just looking at her.

She needed to get him to the closest private space, an on-call room, an empty exam room, a –"

"Meredith, are you alright?"

She was really nervous and scared, but couldn't help but smile anyway. "I'm good, I'm great. You're home, I just… You surprised me and…"

Derek noticed how she didn't come close, how she stayed distant. What happened?

"Meredith, is everything okay? I thought you'd be more excited, more…"

She looked around at everyone that was watching their little interaction. They all knew what was happening. They knew about her pregnancy, and if the last hour and a half that they had spent with Dr. Shepherd was any indication, they knew he didn't know yet.

"I am, I am… There's just something really serious that we need to talk about and I thought I was going to have time to prepare you and…"

Derek came closer and Meredith took a small step back.

That hurt.

What the hell was going on?

"I'm… I have to go to the bathroom. Meet me in the on-call room around the corner in ten minutes? We need to talk… Somewhere private."

Derek nodded slowly but didn't have the chance to say anything before Meredith was gone.

He turned around to look at the team of doctors, and noticed how they had all immediately gone from watching them interact to doing their work.

Did everyone know something that he didn't?

He scrubbed out, taking his time, knowing that whatever was going on with Meredith, she needed time to prepare herself for it.

His mind raced, from someone having passed away, to her having done something bad… He didn't even want to think about it, but what if… Nah, Meredith would never cheat on him, they'd been through that before. But he had been gone a long time and…

He rushed out of the scrub room and headed straight for the on-call room Meredith had meant, his thoughts still all over the place.

When he arrived, Meredith was already there waiting for him. He closed the door behind him, and didn't approach. He would give Meredith the time to explain what the hell was going on.

"I take it you didn't get any of my letters, at the beginning, did you?"

He shook his head. "I hated it. So much… I'm sorry…"

Meredith shook her head. "It's not your fault, I know that. But there was one letter that I sent that had some very important news, and I've spent these past four months trying to figure how I was going to tell you when you finally arrived. I never was able to figure out the right way.

Derek shuddered. "Meredith, whatever it is, I can handle it. Just tell me." _Rip it off like a band aid,_ he thought to himself.

Meredith shook her head and smiled.

_Is that a smile?_ Derek thought to himself.

"I think it'll be easier if I show you."

She turned her back to a very confused Derek and pulled off her scrub top. Wearing only a tight tank-top, she turned around to watch Derek's reaction.

"Meredith… You're…"

Meredith laughed. "Surprise!"

Derek threw himself at her and brought her into the tightest embrace she had ever received. She giggled as her husband dropped kisses all over her head and face.

"You're pregnant, you're pregnant, I… I can't believe it!"

He pulled back to look her in the eyes. "Meredith, when you were acting all strange in there, I thought for sure something was wrong. I couldn't figure it out. I… This is beyond wonderful news! I thought someone had died and that it had been months and I didn't know or that… I don't know, something had happened to you, or with you, or… I can't even say it out loud."

Meredith pieced it together. "You thought that I had… I had cheated?"

Derek looked ashamed. "You wouldn't let me touch you!"

Meredith laughed it off. "I'm sorry Derek, I just didn't want you to figure it out in front of all those people. I wanted us to have a special moment. And besides, how would I have been able to pull off cheating on you with the twins to take care of. You really have quite the imagination."

Derek chuckled a bit with Meredith. "Well, when you spend four months in the middle of nowhere with people you don't know, your imagination tends to be your only friend sometimes. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have thought that."

Meredith gave him a sad smile. "It's okay, I forgive you."

The two of them decided to take a seat on the edge of the bed. They figured they might be here for a while.

"So when did you find out?"

Meredith sighed. "In New York, just a few days after you left. And I wasn't even the one to figure it out."

"Mom?" Derek asked with a knowing smile.

"Mom," Meredith confirmed.

"So," Derek started, "I take it I'm the last one to know?"

Meredith nodded. "That you are. And don't take it too hard, okay? I did enough of that for the both of us in the beginning. I kept thinking, if only I had realized it mere days sooner. At this point, it's become a running gag around the hospital, and it's just a lot easier to deal with it that way."

Derek dreaded his next question, but asked it anyway. "Are there any, you know… complications, this time?"

Meredith smiled. "Nothing. It's a perfectly normal pregnancy. There isn't even an "all things considering" statement to go along with that. It couldn't be going any smoother."

Derek knocked on the side of the end table next to the bed. "Knock on wood."

Meredith wrapped her hand around Derek's. "I'm just glad that I finally got to tell you, and that I was the one that got to tell you."

And then it clicked in Derek's brain.

_*Earlier that day*_

_Derek had tried Meredith's number when he had landed in New York. He hadn't had the chance when he arrived in Paris as he needed to get through customs and only had a limited amount of time. But when he landed in New York and saw that he had an hour before his flight to Seattle, he went to the first pay phone he could find. He called Meredith's number on multiple occasions and never got an answer. He didn't want to call the hospital, because he didn't want Meredith to end up being the last one to know he was on his way, and chances were, that was what would happen if someone were to realize who was asking for her._

_When he landed in Seattle, he tried again, still with no success. He hailed a taxi and decided to head for the house, to see if she was there. It would also give him the chance to drop off his bags before heading to the hospital, if need be. _

_When he entered the quiet house, he knew it was empty. His eyes landed on the dish of rice in the kitchen when he passed it on his way to their bedroom and he laughed. He had figured out why she hadn't been answering. _

_He found his car keys exactly where they were supposed to be and headed straight for the hospital. He knew that as soon as he walked through the doors, he was risking his chance and that Meredith may hear it through the grape vine that he had arrived. But at this point, he didn't have much choice. _

_He headed toward the nurses' station in order to find out where Meredith was. He hadn't quite made it yet when a very familiar booming voice stopped him in his tracks. _

"_Dr. Shepherd! Nice to see your face!"_

_Derek smiled at his brother. "It's nice to see you too. I see the place is still standing! That's nice to see too."_

_Mark laughed. "You knew I could take care of this place. And I did a great job while you were gone might I add. But you can have it back."_

_Derek nodded and laughed. "I will take it back, I promise. But just not today. I need to find Meredith. Any idea if she's here today?"_

_Mark nodded. "She's in surgery."_

_Derek nodded. "In that case, I'll go find the kids and we'll wait for her together."_

"_You won't find them at the daycare," Mark informed him. _

_Derek raised an eyebrow. "And why not?"_

_Mark laughed. "Enough with the suspicion. They're with Mom. She showed up this morning for a surprise visit."_

_Derek smiled. "Mom's here."_

_Mark gave him a pat on the back. "Everyone's here to greet you. Aren't you a lucky man?"_

_Derek smiled. "Am I ever. Well, other than the fact that I got forced into leaving my family to go work in a war zone, only to find out that I didn't even have to be there."_

"_Yeah, well there is that," Mark said with a nod. "Did you get any of the letters we sent you before they cut the communication?"_

_Derek shook his head, a sad look on his face. "No, not one."_

_Mark nodded. _He doesn't know about Meredith then,_ he thought to himself. _

_Just then, Richard approached._

"_Derek! When did you get here?"_

_Derek smiled as he shared a brief hug with the older man. "A few minutes ago. Just waiting for Meredith then I'm planning on going home and spending a nice evening with my family."_

_Richard nodded. "That sounds like a wonderful plan. And congratulations. I'm glad I finally get to tell you!"_

_Mark went wide eyed and shook his head. Richard quickly caught on. _

"_Congratulations?" Derek asked. "For what?"_

_Richard laughed. "That's right, I forgot you didn't know. You won a prize, I won't go into detail. Meredith will explain it to you later I'm sure."_

_Derek nodded, accepting the answer. "So, tell me, what's new around here?"_

_The men exchanged looks. "Good question," Richard said. _

"_Cristina and Jackson are expecting baby number two," Mark pointed out, thinking that having Derek focus on someone else's pregnancy would keep his wife's pregnancy secret a little bit longer._

"_And I heard that it's going to be a boy," Richard added. _

_Mark's eyes lit up. "Oh, and you'll never believe this, but Owen is alive."_

_Derek's eyes filled with shock. "Owen's alive?" _

"_I couldn't believe either. I don't think anyone could. I've never seen Teddy as happy, ever. It's really great. And Andy has been spending time with him, so that's really good too."_

_Richard sighed. "Miranda was diagnosed with cancer."_

"_Damn, how's she doing?"_

_Mark shrugged. "She had a lumpectomy scheduled for earlier today, but I haven't heard any news."_

"_She's in recovery," Cristina said as she approached Mark and Richard and the man who had his back to her. _

_Derek turned to face her and a smile broke out on her face. "Derek Shepherd! How the hell have you been? Didn't recognize you with the haircut and the kickass tan. Can't get one of those here in Seattle."_

_Derek smiled as he hugged his wife's best friend. "Cristina Yang, look at you? A little boy I hear?"_

_Cristina smiled. "You heard right. But then again, everyone's heard right since Jessica has pretty much informed every person in this hospital."_

"_Jackson has got to be loving this," Derek said with a wink. _

"_Can't wait for the kid, but he can't put up with me," Cristina said with a laugh. "Meredith and I…"As soon as she said Meredith's name she saw the two men behind Derek shake their heads. "…have been spending lots of time together. Jackson will trade me off for your kids when my hormones are too much for him to handle. He'd rather deal with three toddlers than one sobbing pregnant woman."_

_Just then, Derek overheard one of the nurses at the nurses' station talking to another nurse. "Page Dr. Lewis. Dr. Shepherd's in surgery so she is unavailable. Tell him the surgery shouldn't take long."_

"_I'll take it," Derek said quickly, without even really thinking about it. _

"_Derek, you just got off of a plane," Mark argued. _

"_I slept longer on the plane than I usually do when I'm home."_

"_Don't you want to wait for Meredith to get out of her surgery so you can take her home?" Richard argued. _

"_You heard the nurse. Surgery shouldn't take long. Guys, I haven't operated, like really operated in almost five months. Let me do this, please."_

_Mark laughed. "We can't stop you, so no need to ask for permission."_

"_Good. It was nice to see you guys. I'll see you all later!" he called out as he headed towards the OR, patient's chart in one hand while he waved to him with the other._

"_That was close," Cristina said. "I figured he knew."_

_Richard nodded. "Me too."_

"_Do you think he knows something is up?"_

Derek laughed to himself. "It makes sense now."

Meredith gave him a funny look. "What makes sense?"

Derek recounted his little talk with Mark, Richard and Cristina. "Both Richard and Cristina almost let it slip. Who would have thought that out of the three of them, Mark would have been the one to verify subtly whether I knew anything before making any comments. He asked about letters… He wanted to know if I had heard about you and this baby. Boy, Mark has come a long way."

Meredith smiled. "He really has. We all have."

Derek smiled. He hadn't smiled like this for what seemed like a very long time now. He was home, with Meredith and his family, and he was happy.

"You've got quite the smile on your face there," Meredith commented, not able to hold back the smile herself.

"I've got so many reasons to smile. Why wouldn't I take advantage of that?"

Meredith giggled and Derek leaned in to kiss her.

"God, I've been waiting for forever to do that."

They kissed again, a simple, delicate kiss, but a real kiss all the same. When they pulled back, they both smiled.

"So I've been brought up to date on Seattle Grace news," Derek announced as he stood up and helped Meredith to her feet.

"Oh yeah? What have you heard?"

Derek smiled. "Well I heard that the twisted sisters who swore off families and kids on their first day of their internship are both expecting. For the second time each."

Meredith laughed. "What's even better is that we found out yesterday that we even have the same due dates!"

Derek rolled his eyes. "Why am I not surprised? You and Cristina do everything else together. Why not this too?"

Meredith smiled as she pulled her shirt back over her head. "So what else have you heard?"

Derek sighed. "I heard about Miranda… Cancer, what a sin. But Cristina tells me she's in recovery and things are looking promising."

Meredith gave a small smile. "Good, I'm glad to hear that. We'll have to go swing by her room later."

Derek took Meredith's hand in his as they got ready to leave the on-call room. "I also heard that Mom is here and I can't wait to see her. Oh! And that Owen is alive and here."

They were now in the hall and Meredith paused in her tracks at the news. "Owen? As in Owen Hunt is alive and here?"

"Have to see it to believe it?"

Meredith turned at the sound of a voice coming from behind her and stood shocked when she saw that Owen Hunt was is fact very much alive and standing before her, looking healthy and happy.

"Wow, Owen. I… I don't know…"

Owen shrugged and laughed. "That's the typical reaction today. I'm starting to get used to it."

Derek laughed as he looked to Meredith. "So I guess you didn't know? I've only been back for about two hours and even I knew this!" He then switched his gaze over to the Owen. "Nice to see you again. I'm glad to see that miracles really do exist."

Owen smiled as he shook hands with Derek. "It's nice to see you too Derek. I heard you've been gone for a little while now. I bet everyone is happy you're home now!"

Derek looked over to Meredith. "I hope everyone's happy I'm home too."

"Oh, I am."

They all laughed.

"Well, I was just heading over to visit Miranda. I heard about her procedure and want to go say hi and see how she's doing," Owen announced. "I don't know if she's heard about my returning, or my being back from the dead, as Cristina has been calling it, but I've got nothing better to do!"

Derek and Meredith agreed to join him, and then they would head home to their family.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Miranda stirred slightly from her sleep and couldn't help but feel… good. The doctors told her that the lumpectomy had gone just fine and that they didn't suspect that the cancer would be back. She would however, have to take a few weeks off from work in order to recover. She would talk to Mark before the end of the day. She was kind of happy about the few weeks off. She'd get to spend some quality time with Danielle and Tuck, when he wasn't at school, and she was looking forward to it.

"Hey sleepy, how are you feeling?"

She found Ben sitting beside her, much as she had the first time she had woken up.

Miranda smiled. "I'm feeling good. Like, really good. It must be the drugs."

Ben laughed. "Probably."

Miranda shifted and that's when she noticed the two men standing just outside the window.

"Yup, the drugs are definitely doing something to me. I'm hallucinating."

Ben scrunched up his eyebrows. "What are you talking about?"

Miranda laughed. "Derek Shepherd and Owen Hunt are in the hallway talking. Derek is on the other side of the planet and Owen is dead. I wonder why I see them and not… other people."

Ben smiled. "You're not hallucinating sweetie. They were actually both waiting to see how you were doing. They didn't want to wake you, so I told them I'd let them know when you woke up."

Derek looked into the window at that moment and Ben signaled for them to enter.

Miranda stayed confused.

"Miranda, glad to see that everything went alright!" Derek said as he came over and gave her a light hug. "How are you feeling?"

Miranda smiled, despite the confusion. "Good. And I see that you're back! That's good too." She then looked up at Owen. "And that you're back… from the dead? That's… confusing."

Owen laughed. "I'm back from the dead, and very much alive. I'll explain everything to you when you feel up to it, I promise, and you'll be a lot less confused."

Miranda nodded. "Teddy's back at Seattle Grace."

Owen smiled. "I know, that's why I'm here."

"And you guys have a real cute kid together, Andy Dandy."

Owen laughed at Miranda, who was clearly on something. "I know that too. I actually have gotten the chance to spend the day with him."

Miranda then turned her head quickly and looked back to Derek. "Oh! And speaking of kiddies, you're having another one too! Did you hear about that?"

"Thanks for going and ruining all of my secrets," Meredith said in a joking manner from the doorway. "You're lucky you're on drugs right now, otherwise I'd be mad. What if I hadn't told him yet, huh? Did you think about that?" She smiled as she reached down and gave Miranda a hug.

Miranda rolled her eyes. "If he's here, in my room, it means that he's been here for a while. And if he's been here for a while, he must know. It's Seattle Grace. Even if you hadn't told him yet, he would have known. And besides, wouldn't it have been better hearing it from me than hearing it from some random nurse?"

They all laughed and nodded. "Even on drugs, you're as witty and smart as ever," Derek said with a friendly smile.

Miranda smiled again, a cheesy smile that only a Miranda Bailey on drugs would ever use. "I know."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

"I'm home!"

Mark found Lexie and Carolyn in the living room, spread out on the floor with the four kids in the midst of art supplies and what looked to be an enormous card.

Both adults looked up and smiled. "You're just in time to sign the welcome home card that the kids made for Derek," Carolyn said excitedly. "The paint hasn't dried yet, so you can still contribute if you'd like."

Mark laughed. "I would love to. And maybe our supper guests would like to see this and contribute too."

Both women looked at Mark. "Supper guests?"

"That would be us."

Kelsey was the first one to spot the unexpected visitor. "Daddy!"

Lexie and Carolyn were quickly up from the floor and in line behind the kids to greet Derek. Mark managed to pull the card aside, in case the kid wanted to make a few finishing touches to the gift before presenting it to its recipient.

"Daddy! I missed you so so much! Especially your pancakes and your piggy back rides. Mommy can't give us piggy back rides anymore because she has a baby in her belly. But Uncle Mark and Uncle Jackson and Uncle Alex and Uncle Sam and…. Well, everyone else gives us piggy back rides but their piggy back rides aren't as good as yours daddy. And you missed a lot of sledding and skating and at the daycare, we made snowflakes to decorate and we even made a snowman that doesn't melt and…"

The little girl took a deep breath and was about to start up again, but Derek cut her off.

"Kels hunny, you have all the time in the world to tell me everything but how about you give your brother a turn? How does that sound? And then we can talk some more while we eat supper?"

She nodded quickly and ran off to find Mark and the card.

"Daddy!"

Derek picked up Keegan, who wrapped his entire body around his father. He just held on tight and didn't seem to want to let go. He didn't say a word, just clung on tightly.

Eventually, Derek pulled him away to get a good look at him and noticed the tears in his eyes. "Hey buddy, what's wrong?"

He quickly wiped his eyes. "Don't leave again, okay daddy? I missed you."

Derek couldn't help but get teary eyed at his little boy's comment and he clung on tighter. "I won't bud, I'm here now."

"I love you daddy."

Derek nodded. "I know and I love you too."

They held on for a few more seconds, then Derek slowly set him back down and watched him run off to find his sister and his cousins who had all disappeared with Mark.

"Derek!"

It was Carolyn's turn to take her son into her arms. "It's so good to see you. I'm glad you're home safe and sound. I was terribly worried."

Derek rubbed his mother's back softly. "I know mom, and I'm sorry I had to put you through all that. All of you. And I'm glad I get to see you so soon. I have to say, your luck and your timing couldn't have been any better."

Carolyn laughed. "I agree. I'm so happy that I get to share this moment with everyone. We should have a family dinner. Let's invite Amy and Julian and the kids. And Richard and Adele. Oh, and Addison and Sam and Nate. You can invite Cristina and Jackson and Jessie too if you want. What about –"

Derek cut her off. "Mom! It's almost supper time. We don't have time to cook a meal for that many people."

Carolyn shook her head. "We'll order some pizzas. My treat."

Derek gave her a look. "Mom…"

Carolyn laughed. "Didn't you hear Derek? I've recently found myself with a little bit of extra cash. It would be my pleasure to host your welcome home party."

Lexie and Meredith laughed. "Derek, let your mother do what she wants. You know she'll get away with it anyway."

Derek gave Meredith a defeated look. "Fine. But how about we have it tomorrow night? We can have a quiet supper tonight, and that way everyone has time to make it over. Tomorrow night at our place."

Carolyn gave Derek a victorious smile. "That sounds like a good plan Derek. It's nice to have you home."

Derek smiled. "It's nice to be home."


	12. The Unbroken Circle

**Last chapter guys! I've been working hard on getting a few chapters ready for the third and final installment in this series. It's called You'll Be In My Heart and I will post the first chapter immediately after this one! I hope you enjoy the end of this one and the beginning of the next! **

**Enjoy and thank you all for being great fans (: **

"This is a beautiful sight. So many people, so many happy faces."

Meredith smiled as Derek leaned in and planted a kiss on the top of her head. "I'm actually glad Mom suggested it. It really was a great idea."

Derrek nodded. "I agree. Who would have thought so many people would show up?"

They both looked around the yard to all the people there. Kids and adults enjoyed themselves equally under the dinner time sun, and all were glad to be blessed with such wonderful weather for this event. Instead of ordering pizza, Mark, Alex and Jackson had volunteered their manly services and brought over their barbecues. Carolyn and Meredith had picked up dozens of packages of hotdogs, sausages and hamburgers. Carolyn, Adele and Lina Harrington were in the kitchen bonding over grandmotherhood while making salads to go with supper. Everyone else arrived with chips, cookies, drinks, paper plates and utensils and everything else anyone could think of.

Derek looked around the yard. Mark and Owen were manning the barbecues while Alex and Richard starting serving the kids. Kelsey and Keegan, along with Jessica, Danielle, Nathaniel, Celia, Andy, Josh and Daniel were sitting at the picnic table, hotdogs and chips everywhere, Jackson and Amy supervising and trying to keep things under control. Next to their table was Izzie and Dustin, Catherine and Emily and Lexie and Thomas, the moms all trying to help their little ones with their supper. Carolyn, Adele and Lina emerged from the kitchen with their salads and began serving the kids. Ben, Finn and Sam and were playing baseball with Tuck, Kayla, Alyssa and Stephanie in the not so far off distance. Julian and Mike were attempting to start a bonfire in the fire pit. Addison, Teddy, Samantha, Callie and Arizona were making sure the napkins and plates didn't fly away, all while chatting away and laughing over who knows what. Miranda sat with Cristina on the deck and took in, much like Derek was doing, the scene in front of her. Everyone was happy. Everyone was good.

"I missed this while I was away. Being able to spend time like this with everyone that I love and care for. I missed a lot of things, but this, spending time with these people, is something that I especially missed."

Meredith took her husband's hand in hers. "You're here now and you won't have to ever leave again."

Derek smiled. "I know. And the thought of being around for good makes me very happy."

Meredith laughed. "It makes me very happy too."

Derek leaned in and kissed Meredith, showing her just how happy he was to be back.

"Oh stop with the gross PDA you two. There are kids here."

They turned to face Cristina who was sitting just a few steps away from them. Miranda was chuckling beside her.

"It's my house, I can do what I want," Derek answered with a smile, leaning in and continuing the kissing.

Cristina rolled her eyes while turning towards Miranda. "I imagine if I tell them to get a room, they might actually go inside and get themselves a room and I can't have whatever is happening in that room on my conscience, so I'm going to keep my mouth shut."

Just as Cristina finished her observation, someone from the barbecues called out exactly what Cristina didn't have the audacity to do, for her own personal sanctity.

"Great!" she called back. "Whoever suggested that is no longer my friend. I'm the one sitting outside of the window of said room."

Alex laughed. "Yeah Mark, think about the consequences of your words before using them. Isn't that a lesson we need to teach our kids? Maybe someone should teach it to you first."

This warranted a laugh from everyone within earshot.

"Hey, I tried to raise that boy right, but he's always been a tough one," Carolyn said with a smirk as she set her salad bowl down.

"It wasn't any better during his internship, I can guarantee you that," Richard agreed.

"I second that," Derek said with a laugh.

"And I second that," Addison added.

Mark frowned. "What is it? Pick on Mark day?"

Meredith giggled, but didn't get a chance to say what she wanted to say because Miranda stole the words from right out of her mouth.

"It's always pick on Mark day. Get used to it or get lost."

Mark huffed dramatically. "Fine. I'm going to go hang out with the kids then. They don't judge me."

He kept up the dramatics and stormed off.

"That's my cue to take my turn at the grill."

Meredith kissed him one last time, then turned and joined Miranda and Cristina in the loungers.

"Isn't it nice to have a good excuse and not have to do any work? I should be pregnant more often," Cristina said with a satisfied smile.

"How many do you intend on popping out?" Miranda asked with a chuckle.

Cristina shook her head. "No, I was definitely kidding. This little guy is going to be my last."

Meredith sat up quickly and smiled. "That's right! I heard it was a boy. I didn't get the chance to properly congratulate you yesterday. So congratulations!"

Cristina smiled as she took her best friend's hand in hers. "Thank you Mer. So how about you? Have you…"

Meredith's smile got even bigger.

Cristina and Miranda both sat up straight and leaned in. Miranda was the first to react. "You did, didn't you?"

Meredith nodded enthusiastically. "Addison managed to slip us in today. I wanted Derek to be here before I found out. I wanted him to be the first one to know the gender of the baby since he was the last one to know of his existence."

"His!" Cristina exclaimed. "A boy too!"

Meredith smiled and nodded. "A boy. God Cristina, our boys are going to be inseparable, I can tell."

Miranda laughed. "I don't know if that's a good thing, or a bad thing. A scary thing. If they're anything like the two of you…"

Just then, Alex, a beer in one hand and a tray of hamburgers and salads balanced on the other, dropped himself into the seat beside Meredith.

"Supper's ready. There is more food than you can imagine."

Meredith smirked. "You'd be surprised at the amount of food I can imagine. I do spend Christmas with the Shepherd's every year."

Alex chuckled. "Good point. But there is still plenty of food so you ladies enjoy."

Cristina was the first to grab a burger. "I've been craving one of these ever since Jackson bought that barbecue two weeks ago. Thank god the rain let up."

They were all into their hamburgers and salads when Izzie sat down and took the last seat in their little circle. "Kids are all done eating and are wearing off all of their energy on the playset. It's my turn."

The five of them settled into casual conversation, all while feasting away.

"Alex, grab me a glass of juice would ya!"

Alex got up with a laugh. "Yes Dr. Bailey."

Miranda couldn't help but laugh too. "God, that brought back some memories."

Meredith nodded. "Tell me about. You ordering Alex around, surrounded by Cristina, Izzie and I. How long has it been?"

"Ten? Eleven years?"

Alex passed Miranda her glass of juice and took his seat back. "Not long enough. I can still remember how much you guys hated me. It hurts knowing that there was a time that you didn't love me," he said with an exaggerated sad expression, followed by a laugh.

"Shut up," Izzie said as she gave him a light punch in the arm. "Or else we'll start hating you again."

Cristina rolled her eyes. "Who said that I ever stopped?" She gave Alex a wink.

"I'm with Yang on this one," Miranda agreed with a smirk.

"Well, unlike these two who seem stuck in the past," Meredith started with a wink, "I on the other hand have grown very fond of you. If ever Cristina decided to abandon me, I would consider you as my replacement person. But you'd have to beat out Izzie, so you might have a tough time with that one."

Cristina shook her head. "Neither one of you get any ideas over there. I'm not leaving, ever, so there will be no replacing me."

Meredith smiled. "I'm okay with that."

Izzie and Alex shrugged. "I guess we'll survive."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

"I don't how to explain to anyone how it was over there," Derek said as he bite into his burger. "I mean, Meredith hasn't asked any questions yet, and I know she's giving me time to adjust to being home again, but I'm sure the questions will come and I don't know what to say. I don't want to expose her to any of what I have lived, what I have seen. You know?" Derek let out a short laugh. "Who am I kidding? Of course you know. God, I can be a dumbass sometimes."

Owen laughed. "Aren't we all. And don't be too hard on yourself. It's nice that people forget that, before two days ago, I was a dead soldier to everyone in Seattle and now you have forgotten that I have done many of the things you had to do. It's refreshing."

Derek nodded and smiled. "I guess that since I've been gone so long and haven't seen anyone in months, I forget that you just got here too and people are adjusting to you being back even more than me being back. I'm just getting used to being around everyone again, so you just kind of blend in."

Owen smiled. "I'm glad that my presence hasn't been as awkward and weird as it could have been. I mean, I was dead, and now I'm not. That's got to be weird for everyone. But everyone still treats me as if I hadn't been dead, or… whatever."

They both laughed and took a few more bites of their burgers and a swig of their beers.

"But Derek, if you ever need to talk to anyone about anything, anything at all, know that I'm your guy. I've been where you are in some ways and can and will do anything to make your return to normal life as normal as possible. After having spent a very long time in the presence of doctors and people trained to do just that, reintroduce you to your life, I can kind of say I'm an amateur professional of some sorts. And if I can't help you, I can recommend you to someone who can. As for talking to Meredith, tell her what you can, the easier stuff and tell her how you felt. That's what really matters. You don't need to paint her a picture of the devastation that the people you were helping were living through. She wants to know about you, she wants to make sure that you're okay. So let her do just that."

Derek nodded, glad he now had something to base the upcoming conversations with his wife on. "Thanks Owen, that really helps. And I might take you up on that offer to talk. But not tonight. Tonight is for relaxing and having fun. What do you say we do just that?"

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

"Mom, I've got to say, I wasn't sure how well this was going to turn out when you suggested having supper and inviting everyone to come, but this turned out wonderfully," Mark said as he pulled up a chair to the circle that had been formed around the fire pit.

"Just because I'm old dear, doesn't mean I can't have wonderful ideas," she replied with a wink.

"Never once did I ever say you were old!" Mark exclaimed.

All of the adults, along with the older kids had settled around the campfire. The younger kids, minus the few that were inside asleep, were still playing in the playset, enjoying their time together. Everyone was stuffed from dinner, but all had satisfied smiles on their faces. The evening had in fact been everything everyone had hoped it would be and more.

"Mark's right though Carolyn, this was wonderful, "Adele complimented her.

"I just wish I had thought of doing it myself, take the credit you know," Richard added with a laugh.

"Well," Carolyn interjected, "if it hadn't have been for all of your presence here tonight, the evening would have been much different, so everyone can take credit for the successful outcome."

"Amen to that," Miranda called out. "I'm just glad Ben forced my ass out of bed this afternoon. I would have regretted not coming."

Tuck patted his mom's knee from his spot on the grass in front of her. "I'm glad you came too mom, because if you hadn't have come, I wouldn't have been able to come and I really like spending time with everyone. It's fun having a big family to count on."

Everyone demonstrated their agreement to the young boy's statement by raising their glasses.

"Amen to that," Mark said with a smile.

"I have an idea," Izzie exclaimed excitedly. "Why don't we all go around the fire and either say something we're grateful for, or something we're happy about, or just something good in general? I think we've got a lot of positive things going on, and it would be nice to celebrate that, don't you think?"

"I think that's a wonderful idea," Adele said with a smile. "I'll even start. I just want to say that I'm grateful to have every single one of you in my life. You have become a family to me, and I don't know what the last 5 or 6 years would have been like without all of you. I know, everyone is going to say something similar, so I'm going to go deeper. Jackson," she turned to face the young man, a bright smile on her face. "I want to thank you for having accepted me into your life and having treated me like a mother. You're the son I never had, and now that you're in our lives, it's like you've always been a part of our family. You've made me a grandmother, and you've allowed me to be a part of your life even though you didn't have to. That means the world to me."

Jackson couldn't help but swipe at the tears collecting in the corners of his eyes. "I… Adele…"

Richard cut in. "You'll get your turn boy, it's papa's turn now."

Everyone laughed, including Jackson who couldn't help but let a few slip in doing so.

"Grandbabies. All of these grandbabies. It doesn't matter that the vast majority of them aren't my blood, having all of these grandbabies around makes me feel young and rejuvenated, and that makes me the happiest man alive."

Lina smiled. "I agree with Richard on that one. But I have to say, what makes me the happiest mama around is having been forgiven by my wonderful sons for my absence. I'm glad that Sam called me up all those years ago, because it made me realize that I belonged here with them. I'm also very thankful that the Inn is still standing and in our possession, and I have a lot of you to thank for that. After the year that we hosted everyone from the medical convention, our popularity has skyrocketed. To be able to keep the Inn and pass it down to the next generation is incredible. So, that's what I'm thankful for."

Lina squeezed Addison's hand and Addison took her turn. "What am I thankful for… The list is unending. I think the big thing for me is having been accepted back into the fold, even after everything that has happened in the past. I'm thankful to all the Shepherd's, for still making me feel like I'm part of the family, in a very non-awkward way." Everyone giggled. "Carolyn, for still mothering me even though you don't have to, Derek, Amy, Mark for being my friends again, and Meredith, for letting me be Derek's friend even after I stole him from you, which I did, because since the moment he met you, he has belonged to you. I guess that's what I wanted to say."

Sam kissed his wife's head, knowing that the woman that he had married was a special brand of amazing. "I'm thankful for Nate, for his health, and for the life that we can give him. The people he is around, the friends he has made. He's a very lucky little boy and I'm a very luck dad."

Sam turned to his brother, who in turn, exchanged looks with Samantha. She gave him a small nod, and they both smiled. "I'm thankful that she said yes."

Samantha laughed and added quickly, before anyone could react to the news. "And I'm thankful that he asked."

She brought up her left hand and put on display the ring that sat on her finger. Everyone cheered excitedly and a choir of congratulations was heard.

When everything calmed down, it was Arizona's turn. "I don't think I've ever said this out loud, but I'm thankful for today's acceptance, and for all of your acceptance." She turned to Callie and took her hand. "There are still people who can't accept relationships that aren't traditional and I'm glad that we've been able to surround ourselves with people who don't notice that we're difference. I'm thankful every day, even though I don't always show it, because at this point, it's so natural and I don't even have to wonder if I'm being judged or not because I don't care because you, all of you, make me comfortable to be who I am. So thank you."

Callie smiled and nodded. "I agree. I'm also thankful for second chances. And I think everyone around this circle can agree with me. This is quite the unconventional group, but we've been able to get past the differences we've had in the past, and we've become something stronger." She looked at Izzie, but spoke to the group. "We may not have always gotten along, but today, in this moment, you guys are the best friends anyone could ever ask for."

Everyone agreed and for a few moments, it seemed as if the circle of positivity was going to end there, even though not everyone had gone. The idea had gotten across, and people were all thankful for similar things.

But Mark wouldn't have it.

"No way is that the end. We all have to go!" he exclaimed. "I've been waiting for my turn, patiently, like a good boy so let me have it!"

After a few chuckles, the group calmed down and the sharing began again.

"I'm thankful for all of the support you guys have shown my family when we were going through our roughest patch. I… I was in no shape to support Lexie when she needed it most, but you guys all took over and made sure that she was okay and had what she needed. I will never be able to thank you enough."

Jackson was next. "I'm going to put a pause in the mushy feeling stuff. As I'm sure all of you have heard, Cristina and I are going to be having a little boy. I'm just thankful that Jessica doesn't seem to be too broken hearted over the news."

"I'm going to go along the same lines as Mike over here, and I want to say that I'm so very happy that Izzie has agreed to marry me again. In saying that, I hope that you can all be there. We've set a date. So mark the 23rd of June in your calendars. Thank you in advance for being there for us." Alex finished off by taking Izzie's hand in his and giving it a tight squeeze.

"I'm thankful for Miranda Bailey, the strongest, most kind, most amazing woman I've ever known. No explanations needed."

Miranda and Izzie exchanged a smile, and everyone understood where Izzie was coming from and why she was so thankful for the extraordinary woman.

"Well, we're starting to run out of topic ideas," Catherine said with a quick laugh. "After a lot of waiting, Emily finally took her first steps today, so that's pretty exciting. She must have been encouraged by Thomas and Dustin, because she was determined to join them."

Finn smiled. "I'm thankful for having the best step-daughter in the world." He looked over to Stephanie. "Steph, you're crazy awesome and I hope that Emily turns out half as great as you. I want to add some good news to that, but by the shaking of your head, I take it that's what you want to share?"

She nodded.

"Alright, then I guess I'll end there." He turned towards Ben. "Your turn."

Ben laughed. "You stole my idea." He turned to Tuck. "Tuck, you rock and I hope that you know how much I love you and how much you've changed my life. I'm glad that you've accepted me in your life and that we can be such great friends. Keep being awesome, got it buddy?"

"Roger that," Tuck said with a wink.

Julian sighed. "Does that mean I have to brag about how awesome my kids are? Because I already do that on a daily basis and I was hoping to do something different," he said in a teasing voice. "I wanted to say I'm thankful for aunt Jemima pancake mix because I can't seem to make pancakes from scratch and when Amy's not home on Sunday mornings, I don't know if I could hold up the weekly tradition without our dearly beloved Jemima." Everyone chuckled. "But I guess I could be thankful for the two greatest helpers in the world. Kayla, Alyssa, I love you, and I want to thank you for being the best helpers in the world, especially when it comes to the boys. Now, I'm going to take this opportunity to talk about how you girls aren't allowed to grow up too quickly, understood? You girls will always be my little girls, so at least pretend to still be little for a little while longer, understood?"

They nodded and laughed.

Owen cleared his throat before stating one simple fact that explained everything that he was feeling. "I'm just glad to be alive."

Teddy nodded, wanting to share the same sentiment. "I'm glad that Andy will get to grow up with his dad."

Amy smiled. "Can't top that, now can I?" The lightness was restored with that and Amy continued. "I wanted to share some good news actually, and I think this is the place to do it." She turned towards Owen. "Derek and I had a very short conversation today, and its shortness is due to the fact that we are both on the same page. We want to offer you your old job back. It may sound weird, since I'm the one who has your old job, but I want to step down from being in charge to just being a surgeon. Which means that the head job is yours, if you want it of course. You don't need to decide right now, but I've heard so much about the great work you've done and I would love to work as your ally in the years to come."

Owen's face lit up. "How can I say no to that?"

There was a lot of cheering, and everyone was glad that Owen would be back amongst them.

"If I can see both of you in my office tomorrow morning, we can finalize the details," Derek said, a smile on his face. "I'm glad to have you back."

Amy looked down to her oldest daughter who was sitting at her feet. "I'd say it's your turn."

Kayla smiled. "I'm grateful for my family and my friends, but I'm especially grateful for my best friend, Steph, and all the fun and crazy things we've done together. Thanks for being my best friend."

Steph giggled. "Any time."

"Is it my turn now?" Alyssa asked as she looked up to her mom.

"Go ahead," Amy answered.

"I'm grateful for my big sister, for everything that she has shown me and taught me and for putting up with me. I'm also grateful that she lets me hang out with her and Stephanie and that they never tell me I'm too little to play with them or have sleepovers with them. I've got the best big sister in the world."

The girls shared a hug and everyone that watched them just prayed that their kids would get along so well.

"I guess that means it's my turn now," Stepahnie said. "As of this week, Finn is officially no longer my step-dad. He's officially my dad. He signed the adoption papers and the paperwork all went through and now I have a dad, a real dad, for the first time in quite a few years. So I'm thankful for having Finn in my life."

Another round of congratulations went around the circle, and the mood continued to lift.

"What can I say after that one?" Lexie said with a smile. "I found out yesterday that my dad has received his seven years sober chip, so I'm pretty proud of him on that front. He's doing really well, and I think he's finally accepted that he's a better man now. I think he's ready to really start living his life again, being a part of his grandkids lives, doing the things that make him the happiest, maybe even find love," she discreetly turned to Carolyn and watched as her mom blushed. "So my good news is my dad's good news."

"Well, I want to thank everyone here for being the best support system I have ever seen," Miranda said with a smile. "But a special thank you to Ben for putting up with me and to Izzie for making me smile. Thank you."

Tuck was quick to take his turn. "I'm just thankful that my mom's okay."

Miranda patted the boys head as he wrapped his arms around her leg.

Cristina rested her hand on Miranda's arm. "I'm thankful that, after everything we've all been through, we're still standing tall and unbroken. There are a number of you around this circle that have survived multiple tasks and I'm glad that we can all celebrate together your success, being able to overcome those obstacles. Congratulations and I hope the obstacles get smaller and the successes just as plentiful."

The number of people left to say something got considerably smaller and Meredith took a deep breath before starting. "Although these past few months have been long and stressful without Derek here, I have been very lucky to not have had any complications whatsoever with this pregnancy. Knock on wood. With that being said, I'd like to announce that, like Cristina and Jackson, Derek and I will be having a little boy."

Izzie hadn't expected this activity to go over so well, but as another flood of congratulations was given, she smiled at how truly successful this had been.

"We're not done yet!" Derek exclaimed. "I'm thankful to all of you for having helped each other out in times of need, and especially for having watched over my family while I was away. Knowing that Meredith and the kids had all of you made being overseas that much easier. So thank you."

Carolyn smiled. "I guess there's just me left." She turned to Derek. "I'm glad you're home safe and sound and that you will be rewarded for your hard work. Thank you to whoever kept a watchful eye on you well you were away, they will forever be in my good graces." She turned back to the rest of the group. "And thank you to whoever brought the stuff to make s'mores. Let's get our hands on those, shall we?"

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

"I'm exhausted," Meredith said as she fell into bed.

Derek nodded as he fell in beside her. "I totally understand the feeling."

They stayed quiet. Neither one of them made a sound, nor did either of them move. A few minutes passed before Meredith turned over and propped herself on her elbow, facing Derek. Feeling Meredith's gaze, Derek turned his head towards her.

"What?" he asked with a smirk on his face.

"I missed you. A lot."

Derek, in turn, propped himself up on his elbow to mirror Meredith.

"I missed you a lot too. It's weird to be home, but at the same time, it feels like I never left. Everyone's treating me like normal, and after the few questions I got yesterday, nobody has brought up my absence. I really like that."

Meredith smiled. "I definitely feel the difference. Having you missing around the house in everyday tasks was a big change. I had to make supper _and_ wash the pots and pans."

Derek laughed. "Of course, that would be the biggest thing that changed."

Meredith laughed too. "No, it was just one of those little things that reminded me that you weren't here." She went quiet all of a sudden, and Derek immediately picked up on it.

"What's wrong?"

Meredith scooted closer to Derek and nestled her head against his chest. "I… I was so scared for you Derek. For you, for us, for the kids. There was a cop that came to visit me at the hospital and as soon as he said he was there about you, I thought for sure that you were dead. I… It was hard, not being able to send you letters, to see how you were doing. I'm so glad you're home."

Derek wrapped her in his arms and held her tight. "Me too hunny, me too." He held her quietly for a few more seconds before he started up again. "I want to tell you all about it, I do, but not tonight. I'm too tired tonight, but we will talk. But there's one thing I want you to know, something I realized while I was away. Wherever I am, wherever you are, wherever the kids are, I will always love you and be thinking of you, of all of you, no matter what. Just remember that even if we're apart for lengthy periods of time, we'll always get to see each other at the end. If you keep that in mind and stay positive, it makes the days apart much shorter and the nights apart much easier to deal with. I love you Meredith, no matter where I am. Understood?"

Meredith smiled into his chest and nodded. "Understood."

**And that's that! Hope you enjoyed! And don't forget to look up You'll Be In My Heart (: **

**Thanks for reading! **


End file.
